The Savior That Can't Be Saved
by RampagingSoul
Summary: What if, right as Naruto was about to die, wanting to go back into his memories of when he was happy with his team, ended up triggering an unknown Kekkai Genkai, allowing him to go back and insert himself back to that time? Time-Travel Fic.
1. Chapter 1

Hello there! This originally was posted as a one-shot, but I had an idea pop into my head of somehow Naruto being able to go back by inserting himself back into a memory of his past, by accident of course. That after being torn apart by the war, if he was not dying, he would want to go back to before the defection of Sasuke, before the time with Akatsuki, before the Pain invasion, before the war, so that he could better the timeline, not make mistakes. Review and tell me what you think!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Those rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

The Savior That Can't Be Saved

Chapter 1:

The Savior That Can't Be Saved...

The savior walked in a daze, not wanting to see reality. He knew he should focus on the situation, but the death of his teacher and fellow teammate was too much to bear. He was on a cross with a crown of thorns tearing at his forehead. The savior gripped his thorny crown, tearing it off his head and throwing it onto the ground. The thorns were metal, reflecting the sun's stare back to itself as his arms were dangling pillars of flesh, numb, worn and useless. Each step felt like an eternity, shuffling weakly to the beat of his lonesome, slow heart.

His blond mountain range rested on his head as his ocean pools weren't full of happiness, excitement and innocence, but with grief, failure, sadness and darkness. His black cloak waved with the wind's hands touched it as he kept staggering on, no water flooding from his pools. His hands began to make their own communication, making signs. Wind rushed around him like it was his mother, her love for the savior trying to protect and guard the boy from harm, whipping and lashing around him like strikes of a vicious animal that was rapid and wild, untamed by man.

The wind pulsated radically unlike his sinking heart. The savior raised his hand, a mask holding his face together as his emotions were out of control, and, then, pushed it down instantly, causing a giant slash of wind to crash into the earth like a demon on a rampage.

_Maybe I am a demon…,_ thought the savior grimly looking at the destruction the war had on all people, his people, and their people. The wind ripped through the corpses of shinobi like a butter-knife cleaving through a fragile piece of paper. The former life of the dead stained the world a deadly crimson. He kept walking toward where he had to go, the path to the destroyer, the evil, the diabolical deleter of the Shinobi World.

All of a sudden, a beam of black flame was beside the savior, the wind allowing him to make a quick dodge of the attack. The destroyer's partner came and grinned at the savior when he saw him with his eternal eyes. His black clothes wrapped around him, revealing a v-shaped part of his chest. A crow-shaped head with a twisted bottom beck appeared behind him, holding a ball of the blazing black flames it one of its weirdly shaped hands. The destroyer's partner's eyes were weirdly shaped, a weird star with six points with a triangle in the middle that had a hole in the middle. In the background of the triangle figure was something that looked like an altered Star of David which all of these signs were in front of a black background.

His hairstyle is what people would call a duck's behind with bangs as he grinned evilly at the savior.

The savior just walked toward the destroyer's partner, not caring about him at all. The destroyer's partner ran toward the walking savior, who only past him, not even attacking, causing the destroyer's partner to stop and turn in disbelief. The destroying man was staring at the saving one, glaring in anger at the back of the savior.

He made a handsign, the crow-being vanishing, and lightning channeled into his palm. "Don't you run from me, Naruto! I won't let you!" He cried out as it was his cry of battle, charging at the turned man. "I'll just run and kill you while you have your back turned away from me, dope!"

The savior didn't answer back merely walking away as the destroyer's apprentice and partner approached him with a chirping lighting palm. The savior, then, simply stood and turned, causing the destroying man to grin and laugh loudly on the battlefield. The savior made a hand sign and whispered an unknown set of words.

The winds started to turn angry at the boy attacking its child. The savior's mother whipped and growled out into a storm, vicious and bloodthirsty. The wind began to surprise the destroyer's apprentice who stopped his chirping attack and unleashed a beam of concentrated black flame from one of his unusual eyes, burning through the savior's mother like a lighter burning through a paper body.

The savior looked calm and unfocused at the raging windy flames that tore through the barren wasteland of a battlefield as the apprentice charged at the savior with his chirping palm and the savior formed a sphere with four points sticking out of it. They both charged at each other, one grinning, the other wearing a calm frown as the wind sphere tore through the chirping static and the apprentice dodged the sphere from hitting him only to be punched by the savior's fist, falling backward into the ground.

The savior looked at him and went on his way on to see the destroyer in front of him. The savior growled at the destroyer who hid by a mask of a Sharingan and wore the cloak of darkness.

The savior knew now he had to fight, even if it killed him, even if his world was tearing apart…

_No..._, the savior thought sadly at the field of bodies, corpses of former friends, unknown strangers, and figures he had only know in history, _my world is already torn apart… _

Memories flooded his mind, numbing him in their unusual clarity. A school full of ninjas, happy faces, angry faces, sad faces, unrecognizable faces, and dear faces… The only thing those faces and the memories had been that they were dead… He was alive… No, he was dead… alive yet dead.

He saw the lips of the destroyer's apprentice speak the savior's death wish… The savior just wished for death… He wished for closure… for an end to come… for a beginning to begin. You know? He had lost everything… nothing was left… The only thing he had left was going to kill him…

_No…_, the savior thought chuckling harshly. _That was taken long ago… _

He just waited, no longer making hand signs, hands dangling, loose fingers, nothing in his grasp… He looked up slightly with his cold eyes that pierced through the cold red eyes of the apprentice, the eyes of Death… He, for once, welcomed the look, smiling which made the apprentice's face scowl and twist into an expression of hatred… After all, that's all he had left…

The apprentice made hand signs and the familiar sound of chirping birds hit the savior's ears… He could see the lightning in the apprentice's palm and it was moving pretty fast, but to the savior, it was moving in milliseconds, teasing him until it suddenly pierced his chest. He had no drive, no energy left… He just held a smile, which the apprentice hated. The apprentice kept driving the hand into the chest of the savior, crimson life covering the hand in a cold liquid pleasure…

He felt being picked up and saw the familiar statue. He saw the masked destroyer and his apprentice on the fingers. A blinding light hit him, and unimaginable pain came crashing into him. He felt helpless… useless… a dead last… He began to see memories again, flashing through his mind, tearing through it with the pain of the unbearable kind. And he was the one that could deal with unbearable pain…

The savior closed his eyes, feeling the embrace of death yet there was something there, hidden hope in the memories that came to his eyes. There was one where he saw his teacher, his classmates, the one where he learned what he really was, the one where he felt like he was someone, the one where he gained his thorny crown…, but he didn't rush into it.

Instead, the savior looked at the memory of when he was only five, when the old man told him about the Ninja Academy, gave him some free ramen, and enrolled him in it. He remembered how he exclaimed he would go through the academy in no time, like his sensei did before him, the scarecrow... He remembered the chuckle of the old man, the kind smile, and ruffling of his hair... He remembered how proud the old man was of him, the Fire Shadow...

He wanted to be able to prove it... To go back there and show everyone that he could have been a prodigy... Maybe, then, he would have accomplished his goals... Maybe, this apocalypse would have been avoided altogether... or at least stopped before it happened... And he wouldn't be feeling the demonic energy burning his skin, trying to wake him up, yet he was too weak... He couldn't even open his eyes... He could feel the violent energy leave his body..., making him feel weaker...

He, then, remembered the ramen stand, the old man, and the registration into the Academy. Without thinking, the savior jumped into the memory and everything stopped hurting...

Everything around him, in front of him, changed into black as he felt like he was in a peaceful state of, not death but, sleep...

He just went into it…


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Those rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

The Savior That Can't Be Saved

Chapter 2:

The Discovery: Uzumaki Naruto Just Went Back In Time?

_The savior felt memories flow around his body as he drifted toward the one he, on instinct, went toward. He felt his chakra flow around him like when he embraced his mother, making him feel guarded and almost protected. His wild, untamed range of blond locks of hair looked like mountains, but weren't stable, flowing in all directions. His cerulean eyes were full of curiosity of what was happening. Shouldn't he be seeing the perverted hermit, the old man, his mother, his father, his teammate with the unique pink hair, the sensei with the mask, the sensei with the scar across his nose, a busty blonde hair women that loved gambling and sake, the pineapple lazy shadow user, the fa- pleasantly plump friend of his, the boy that resembled a dog with his feral grin, a shy girl with weird, almost clear eyes that was shared by a boy with long hair, a girl with long blonde hair and a mouth full of gossip, a boy that was quiet and held an interest in bugs, a boy with some of the bushiest eyebrows ever and his even bushier eye browed sensei, a girl with a hairstyle that put her hair into buns and a fondness for weapons of all kinds, and many other faces that passed him? Little did the savior know, he was going to see most of them and the many others very soon. Just not in the form he expected them to be in…_

_Including himself…_

XXX

The savior, Uzumaki Naruto, was in his bed, in his little apartment, given to him by the Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen. His body was no longer as tall and as muscular as it used to be, having gone from the shape of someone at the age of sixteen, seventeen to the age of a five year old; a pretty drastic change in terms of height and weight and strength if you ask anyone. Naruto turned over, having rested, and slowly opened his bright, cerulean eyes, blinking them once he saw the door to his apartment. He, then, had them wide open and yawned, wondering what the hell was going on.

Though he wasn't really thinking of anything, still in a dazed state of what happened, though it seemed almost like a dream, too far away to remember as the image felt like a torn book, moments unclear and blurry, an old ruined film of the past. He moved his body, feeling way lighter than he usually did, and dropped off the bed he was laying in. He felt almost numb, barely moving toward his kitchen, putting a tea pot of warm water on the stove, wanting it to not take long to heat up. He laid out a thing of instant ramen and, then, went to the fridge. He, on instinct, grabbed a carton of milk, popped it open, went to his table, sat down in one of the wooden chairs, put the spout onto his lips, and began to tilt the carton back, letting the white dairy liquid ease down his throat that felt drier and more tired than usual.

Then, he just sat there, contemplating what happened in his memory, dream, whatever it was. If it was a dream, then it was the most realistic dream he had ever had in his life. Just… the pain, the dead corpses around him on the battlefield, the war, the destroyer, that Tobi/Madara guy, his accomplice, Yakushi Kabuto, Uchiha Sasuke…, the wind rushing around him, the black flames, the Gedo Mezo…, just everything and anything that he felt and saw then crashed into him like he knew it was reality yet something like a figment of his imagination, a dream. Maybe a premonition of what was to come? It just felt too real to ignore it and call it a dream…

He went to the bathroom to wake himself up a bit by splashing and washing up his face a bit. He turned the faucet of his sink, looking down at his… _tiny hands…_ He splashes his face a bit and wiped his eyes, thinking that he was seeing things as he turned the faucet off. He looked at his hands again… seeing his tiny hands again… Then, they started to shake a bit, as he started to breathe heavier and slowly, very slowly, lifted his face to the mirror. He thought he was see the face of a young adult with wild blond hair, cerulean eyes that were like oceans, and whisker marks on his cheeks, but he was wrong about one fact as he screamed to the heavens and the tea pot began to whistle violently, almost on cue.

The face he saw in the mirror was one of his five year old self, with a frog cap that was laying on his head until, in panic, he ran out of the bathroom, making the cap plop off his head, revealing more of his blond hair, and landed on the bathroom floor, all alone.

Naruto went to turn his stove off and dumped the hot water into the ramen as he let it cool, he knew he had to talk to Kyuubi about what he had just supposedly done.

He, Uzumaki Naruto, had somehow mysteriously gone back in time!

AN: Now I've decided, since I have writer's block with, and don't fully know how to fully go about, The Death Knight, a story I went ahead and deleted, and I've had ideas about this concept and believe I can get a story started along with the sequel of my Kaze no Arashi story, I will make this original one-shot into a full-length story that will change quite a few things with the way the story will go. Naruto will most certainly be way stronger than he was originally since he will still have the knowledge of all his techniques and sage training, he just doesn't have control over Kyuubi and as much chakra as he had when he was in the past timeline of sorts. After all, these events haven't happened in the timeline he put himself into, just in the timeline he was in. Thus, he'll have to do everything over again. But this doesn't mean it'll be exactly like the canon timeline, it will definitely be a lot different as I will try to make this story as unique as I possibly can.

I also know that this chapter was short, but I will definitely have a longer and new chapter of this fic as well as the first chapter of the sequel of Kaze no Arashi up here in the coming week or so. I will try my best to get a chapter of each out each week or a least one of them each week with all the things happening with school at this time. I just hope you support my stories and tell me your honest thoughts by reviewing! That will also help me get chapters out as soon as possible.

Just hope you enjoy the story, my other story, and the many others to come! (To at least one of them...)


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Those rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

The Savior That Can't Be Saved

Chapter 3:

The Talk: Ramen, the Academy, and Memories.

Uzumaki Naruto sat at his bed, closed his eyes, thinking about a million things at once. The future, the past, the present… It all felt like a blur yet seemed entirely clear at the same time. It confused the former young adult now child. He knew something must have happened… Well, of course something happened! He was a five year old for crying out loud!

He sighed and allowed himself to go into his mindscape.

XXX

Naruto opened his eyes, hearing the familiar dripping of water droplets coming from the rusty pipes of his mindscape. What surprised him was the cage. Nothing was different from the cage whenever he saw it when he was younger, the paper seal was still intact on the lock and the cage looked exactly the same except the height of it. It seemed less tall to him so he looked into the water on ground and gasped at what he saw. The reflection of his sixteen year old self looked back at him with the same shocked expression, wearing the familiar orange and black jacket and orange pants.

He scrunched his eyebrows. _What the hell…?_

He stopped his thoughts when he heard very little footsteps that grew louder each moment. The sound of splashing water filled his ears as he waited, in his stance, for what would come before him. He kept a calm look on his face, but inside his mind, he was a little shocked, wondering what or who was causing these sounds as it seemed that the Nine-Tails was still inside the cage, judging by how intact the seal was. He looked and was really shocked at what came out of the darkness of his mindscape, appearing before him, breathing out a little heavily, and leaning down with its hands on its knees.

It looked up to Naruto, still breathing a bit heavily, revealing familiar eyes that were cerulean, hair that was full of spikes and was a bright yellow color, blond, and a small five year old face that Naruto had recently seen in the mirror in his apartment. The very same one that held whisker marks on its cheeks. It looked scared at the unfamiliar surroundings, Naruto, and lastly, and most importantly, the cage that was sealed. The boy was about to speak when a deep growl from the cage frightened and interrupted the boy's thoughts of what he was about to say.

"It seems you have come to see what has happened, eh, Naruto…?" The familiar deep voice said with a friendly chuckle, showing that this was the Kyuubi he had come to know. Naruto chuckled lightly, shocking the little boy that this man was chuckling to this monster in this cage and how the heck did he get here!

"Exactly, Kurama… Now, I'm sorry that I don't have the time to have a cheerful conversation. Let's get down to what the hell is going on here and why I went back in time."

_Went back in time? _The little boy thought as he went over and looked at the man that was talking to the monster in the cage.

Naruto looked down as the boy was shocked to see that the man looked exactly like an older version of him. Naruto got kind of creeped out when the little boy stared at him with adoration and stars in his eyes; a sweat drop appearing on the side of the shinobi… Well, former shinobi since he went back in time. Suddenly, the boy leaped at Naruto, pushing him onto the wet ground, making Naruto grunt silently at the feeling of hitting the hard floor.

The boy became a motor mouth, talking at the same speeds that Lee ran without his weights. He pestered Naruto with questions of the future like "Will I become Hokage!" and "Will I ever marry that pink-haired girl I see around the village!"

It pained Naruto in knowing that this boy may not know of things in the future as it seemed that he was stuck in the mindscape, this five year old Naruto while he was the main functioning part of the body.

Kurama lightly chuckled at the display, getting the small Naruto to jump off Naruto. "It looks like you were having fun there…"

Naruto glared at the fox, now slightly showing from the bars of the cage, "Did you find out why I was able to go back in time?"

Kurama looked at Naruto with his kitsune eyes. "It seems that you hold a secret Kekkai Genkai unknown to even your parents and your ancestors… The ability to use some of your life span in order to go back to a time you think of and go on from there; that is what appears to be your Kekkai Genkai. You seem to have inserted yourself into the memory by wanting to go there before you died. It triggered it and allowed you; I was included, back in time, memories intact. Though it seems that it's almost like just taking your soul and inserting it into your body of that time, making the five year old part of yourself here alone, without being able to be a part of you."

"So, what do I have to do to allow the five year old me back?" Naruto asked, surprised that his parents didn't know of this Kekkai Genkai of sorts.

"That is simple; you fight with your five year old self and beat it, allowing you to take over completely, or the easier way out, but not as fun, you simply have your five year old self accept you and become a part of you. After all, there can't be two of you after all…"

The little Naruto was scared, but listened enough to know kind of what was happening. The older Naruto looked down to see his younger self clinging desperately to his orange pant leg, looking a little scared of Kurama, but seemed to be getting more confident and relaxed. Naruto leaned down with a sincere, light smile on his face, looking at his younger self, getting his attention.

"I'm going to share these memories with you and hopefully, you'll take the easy way for once…" Naruto said, though his tone showed that he was talking about himself, not his five year old self in particular, but himself as a whole in the past and future. He touched the boy's forehead as the memories seeped slowly into the little boy's mind. The Academy, his class mates, Iruka-sensei, his headband, his teammates, his new sensei, the Chunin Exam, the Perverted Hermit, Obaa-san… The years came and went, but Naruto made it stop and excluded certain memories to make the younger him accept what he had said.

Naruto stopped sharing the memories with his younger self, who just stood there, taking everything in for a moment, until he grinned that familiar grin that made Naruto smile. "Alright, dattebayo!"

"Thank you…," Naruto said as the younger Naruto faded, and Naruto felt something more inside him, like he was becoming whole. Naruto stood there for a moment until a noise from Kurama got his attention.

"Now, that that is over, I need to tell you that all the events that have pasted have not official happened which means you can change or keep them the same. Though I caution you of what you change… You'll never know what happens if you change it… So take cautious movements in your choices and don't be an idiot for once…" Kurama grinned slyly. "Or you'll end up kissing that Sasuke kid once again…"

"Hey!" Naruto barked as Kurama just chuckled and Naruto smiled, his mindscape disappearing from his sight.

XXX

Naruto awoke, smiling about the events in his mindscape. He noticed for the first time what he was wearing, a pair of orange shorts with a blue shirt that held a white-grey spiral in the middle, the same outfit his younger self held in the mindscape. He grabbed his goggles and put them on his forehead, smiling at the mirror until his stomach reminded him of something.

_My ramen!_

He went over to the ramen cup, felt that it was colder than usual, but didn't bother checking why. Taking his wooden chopsticks, he sat and dug in, only to make a weird expression, stop eating, and spat his giant mouth full of cold ramen noodles into his trash can.

"IT'S COLD!"

Soon as Naruto threw out the cup of cold ramen, a knock came to his door. Naruto grinned, yelling, "Coming!" He raced to the door, knowing exactly who and what was on the other side.

XXX

Sarutobi Hiruzen was outside the door of the apartment that contained the jinchuriki of Konohagakure, Uzumaki Naruto. He was about to knock on the door when he heard the exclamation of that very boy about something being cold. The Sandaime Hokage chuckled at what he heard and, then, knocked at the door.

He heard the young Uzumaki yell the word, "coming," before he raced to the door and opened it. He smiled a wide grin and rushed at the old man, nearly knocking him over, as Hiruzen just chuckled and rubbed the boy's head of hair affectionately.

"It seems you were eager to see me," Hiruzen smiled down at the boy, though inside his mind, he slightly questioned Naruto's actions. _How did he know exactly if a friendly face was going to knock on the door? It could have been an angry villager or the person that runs this apartment place…_

"Why wouldn't I be, ojii-san?" Naruto asked the Hokage, happily, as the elderly man just chuckled again. Looking at the young boy, Hiruzen noticed the look inside those cerulean pools, the look of a shinobi that lost everything in a war. He wondered why Naruto held this look in his eyes, but decided to just smile at the boy, hearing the growl of the young boy's stomach. Naruto's face flushed red in embarrassment as he chuckled with Hiruzen, rubbing the back of his head. "Is it alright if we go to Ichiraku's?"

The Sarutobi knew exactly why Naruto wanted to go there: the owner Teuchi, his daughter Ayame, and, of course, the Ichiraku Ramen. After all, it was really the only restaurant that served Naruto since the others would have people file complaints about a certain _thing _being near them. He smiled sadly at the blond for a moment before almost immediately changing it into a happy smile.

"Alright, we'll go there, Naruto-kun…" Hiruzen's smile grew when Naruto whooped with joy, running toward the stand from his apartment while Hiruzen just followed him there, his smile never leaving his face.

_I can't wait to tell him about where he's going tomorrow… _The Third Hokage thought, chuckling as they approached the food stand that Naruto so enjoyed.

XXX

"You're sending me to the Academy?"

Naruto's eyes were wide and strangely sparkling as he flipped the curtain that hid the Ichiraku's interior, the seats, the kitchen, and other things such as the napkins and chopsticks lay out with a paper menu underneath the bowl. Hiruzen chuckled at the priceless expression of the blond until he noticed the boy get a down cast look on his face as he sat in his seat.

"What's wrong, Naruto-kun?" Ayame, the waitress of Ichiraku Ramen and the daughter of the owner, Teuchi, asked the blond, a concerned frown decorated the young, feminine face along with her smooth, silky brown locks of hair. Her matching eyes also had a look of concern that matched her frown.

"Yes, what is wrong, Naruto-kun?" Hiruzen asked the boy, touching one of the boy's shoulders, while Ayame put her delicate hand on his other shoulder, inching her face toward Naruto's to show him she was listening.

Naruto looked up and gasped as he saw Ayame's face up close and personal, showing him her cuteness of when she was nine. His face flushed red for a bit as he shook away the blush and grew a melancholy look in his cerulean eyes. It wasn't about the Academy at all. It was about how he never got to see Ayame and Teuchi before he departed to the island where he learned how to completely gain control over Kurama… Well, technically, he gained almost complete control over Kurama… It still saddened him when he was on the war front against Sasuke and that masked man… How he wasn't able to see their two smiling faces, to talk to them about his day, to see how they were doing, to nourish himself in their "food of the Kages."

_At least I have more time to see them now… _Naruto thought, always the optimist. Though he couldn't help but think of the bitter irony of the later part of his life in the other timeline. How he was the pessimist, just wanting the darkness to come, looking at how everything was going to fall… But now he had the chance to pick it all up. He smiled before making it fade. He knew that Ayame and the Third were waiting for his answer, and probably the owner of the establishment, Teuchi, who was in the back of the stand.

"I fear that I won't have any friends at the Academy… After all, the villagers already hate me…" Naruto said very sadly.

"Naruto-kun, I'm your friend!" Ayame yelled at him with a big, childish smile, not surprising since she was a child still. "Even if you don't make friends at the Academy, you know that you'll have the Hokage, my daddy, and… me…" She blushed a bit when saying "me." She went over the counter of the stand and hugged the boy. "I know you! Surely, you'll make some friends!"

Naruto smiled at Ayame and wrapped his arms around her, smiling lightly, sincerely. "Thanks, Ayame-chan." He let his arms loose with Ayame, letting her see his smile before he turned to the Hokage. "You too, ojii-san…"

Hiruzen smiled, ruffling the young Uzumaki's hair with his hand, "No need to thank me, Naruto-kun. After all, Ayame-chan was the one to help you." He smiled at Ayame, who looked at Naruto, blushed, and looked away. The old man chuckled at the display as Teuchi came in with a smile, but it quickly changed to a frown. He approached Naruto, who was wondering what was up with the ramen chef.

"'Ey, Naruto-kun…," Teuchi had his head lowered and, then, he was right in front of Naruto. He raised his head up with anime tears streaming down his face. "What about me? I deserve to be loved!"

Naruto freaked out, knowing he had to act like whenever he was five, "Teuchi-san! I'm sorry, so very sorry! Please, don't take my ramen away!" Naruto had tears streaming down his face, kneeling down to the chef as Ayame giggled at the display and Teuchi and Hiruzen smiled.

"No need to worry, Naruto-kun." He put his hand on Naruto's shoulder, smiling. "I've already got some of your usual order ready, along with yours, Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen smiled kindly to the chef, "Thank you, Teuchi-kun."

Teuchi smiled at them and quickly returned with a few bowls of ramen, one for the Hokage and two for the young Uzumaki. They both ate their food, one more mannerly than the other. Once they were done, the Hokage pulled out a sum of money and placed it on the counter.

He, then, turned to Naruto, "So, what do you say? Do you want to go to the Academy?"

Naruto had his signature grin on his face as he said, "Yeah!"

Hiruzen chuckled as the two left the ramen stand, leaving their goodbyes with Ayame and Teuchi.

"I'll go through the registration form tonight. An ANBU will knock on your door to take you to me in the morning once you are ready. I will take you to registration and your first day of school tomorrow. That sound good, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto grinned once more at his guardian. Or Naruto thought of him as a guardian. After all, he had taken care of him all his life whenever he could. "Ya bet, ojii-san!"

Hiruzen let out one more chuckle, ruffled Naruto's hair, and departed to the tower. Naruto enthusiastically got his bed clothes on and went to bed, eagerly awaiting tomorrow. But as he lay in bed, he remembers the faces of Sarutobi Hiruzen, Ayame and Teuchi of the past, the present, and the future. He, then, remembered when he heard news of all of their deaths, and he had started to cry. Eventually, he fell asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

AN: I appreciate all the reviews for this story so far. I'm very glad to get positive reception for this so far and hopefully more in the long run throughout this story! As always, tell me your thoughts and review the chapter after you read it if you can!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Those rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

The Savior That Can't Be Saved

Chapter 4:

The Academy: The Spar That Started It All!

Uzumaki Naruto awoke with a smile on his face as he raced to get dressed. He put a navy blue shirt with a crimson red Uzumaki Clan spiral on and smiled sadly at the familiar mark of his clan, his mother's clan. He, then, picked up a pair of grey shorts with crimson stripes down the sides, not really caring what he was wearing. A pair of goggles got his attention, his eyes flashing with nostalgia and his smile became sad with that very same nostalgia. He approached the dresser it laid and picked the pair of goggles up. His nostalgia filled smile was still on his face, remembering the times when he wore this as a kid.

_Seems ironic since I'm technically a kid now… _Naruto thought, chuckling as he fitted the familiar goggles on his forehead. He smiled at the way he looked, his eyes becoming brightened at seeing all his friends and classmates, but darkened as well when thinking about the war and their deaths. He shook his head, trying to not think of such things.

He went to his sandals and put them on his feet as heated a teapot of water and grabbed a cup of ramen from his cabinet. He set the thing of instant ramen on the counter as he waited, drinking a cup of milk that thankfully wasn't spoiled like the day he found out who his teammates on his genin team were.

Naruto just kept sitting there, thinking about anything and everything. After all, he wondered if this day was going to be exactly the same as his first day at the Academy back in the other timeline. He remembered that they each introduced themselves.

Sasuke was a lot more cheerful back on that day, a lot more like the Sasuke that showed through when he and Sasuke talked and trained as a team, but that was mainly because the Uchiha Clan Massacre hadn't happened yet. After that happened, Sasuke became an emotional time bomb ready to explode with only thoughts of vengeance and hatred in his mind. Naruto knew he would have to do something in order to get him to not defect to Orochimaru this time.

Sakura would be a lot less aggressive and open, and a lot more shy and reserved. She wouldn't be as shy as Hinata for sure, but she would be shy. She would also not be in love with Uchiha "Heartthrob" Sasuke yet. The reason Sakura would be shy was that she would be nervous of going to the Academy, would not have friends, and would not have met Yamanaka Ino. Once Sakura met Ino, Naruto knew that Sakura would slowly open up and turn into the Sakura he once knew. And very soon after that, Sakura would grow a huge as Gamabunta crush on Sasuke that would tear apart the friendship that Sakura and Ino had built.

Most of the class would be pretty much the same, if not exactly the same as they are in the future timeline. Ino wouldn't be as loud and as a gossip as she was in the other timeline, but she would most likely turn into that really soon with the whole popularity and sticking out thing in school. After all, Ino always had that stick out and be admired personality to her. Shikamaru would be his typical lazy self and Choji would still be snacking on some chips. Shino would still be quiet and observant, most likely unnoticed until people introduced themselves. Kiba would be loud, brash and cocky as always, trying to be the alpha dog of the class. But that was to be expected, he was an Inuzuka after all. And lastly, Hinata would be quiet and shy as always, not having the crush on Naruto yet as that developed some time while they were in the Academy.

All the other classmates were not on Naruto's radar. After all, they would all probably fail the Genin Selection Exam at the end of the Academy or not get passed by their jonin sensei and have to either go back to the Academy and try again or quit being a shinobi altogether.

Naruto also contemplated the idea of passing the exam before the rest of his teammates like his sensei, Hatake Kakashi, and Sasuke's brother, Uchiha Itachi. And maybe he could pass the Chunin Selection Exams and the Jonin Selection Exams in order to become a sensei to one of the future genin teams of his classmates. Sarutobi Asuma would be with the Ino-Shika-Cho lineup once again in this timeline since it seemed he would the recommended jonin for that squad. Hatake Kakashi would be assigned the Uchiha because of his Sharingan unless Naruto gets to the team first and allows Kakashi to train Sasuke on his own time. Knowing Kakashi, he wouldn't mind teaching Sasuke on his own time and being able to have more time to do tasks like solo missions and reading his Icha Icha. But you never know…

If Kakashi got Team 7 and Naruto became a jonin, would that mean Naruto would have to deal with Team 8, Yuhi Kurenal's squad? Naruto thought about this. He would have to deal with the silent Aburame Shino, the loud and cocky Inuzuka Kiba with his dog Akamaru, and the shy and fainting Hyuga Hinata… He would NOT be able to deal with her fainting every time he tried to help Hinata with training. How would he be able to train her at all if she fainted all the time?

Naruto sighed. _Maybe I should just go through the Academy again and stay on the same genin team…_

There were so many choices, so many routes he could take…

The whistle of the tea pot stop his train of thought as he stop the stove, poured the hot water into the instant cup ramen. He waited until it was cooler to grab it and eat it, still thinking about all the choices and outcomes of his actions, his brain beginning to feel like it would crash…

XXX

Umino Iruka looked over the class that he would be undertaking. He noticed some big names of shinobi clans such as Yamanaka, Nara, Akamichi, Inuzuka, Hyuga, Aburame, and Uchiha. But one name got his definite attention, seeing the familiar smile, sparkling cerulean eyes, spiky blond hair, and whisker marks on the person in question's cheeks. The whisker marks particularly made a reaction out of Iruka, a mix of emotions rising in his body. He still reminded him of that day five years ago.

He also began to think of this situation he was in. He merely just turned the rank of Chunin at the age of sixteen yet the task of training these future genin, these future shinobi lay in his hands. He was just a teenager! How could he teach anyone anything?

Still that smile on that boy's face, on Uzumaki Naruto's face, reminded him too much of himself… too much of the pain he felt after his mother and father died… too much of the very thing that took his family away from him as the whisker marks were too close to the smile for comfort… He set the roster down and let out a breath as he went outside to greet those who were coming for the registration and the first day of school.

If the newly made chunin teacher at the Academy had looked closer at the picture of Uzumaki Naruto, he would have noticed the hidden touches of pain and sadness, drowning in the fake happiness of his ocean blue eyes. Those same touches that were hidden on the chunin's face back when he was in the Academy… those same emotions held after he lost everything…

XXX

Naruto held a wide grin rushing at the Academy with a chuckling Sarutobi Hiruzen on his toes, clothed in his usual Hokage robes. The young new Academy student ignored the glares, the stares, the pointing fingers, the whispered words as if they were for someone other than him. When he arrived at the Academy,

Naruto's eyes wandered to each of his classmates as their parents said their goodbyes after they handed in the forms to finish the registration process and allow their child to be allowed inside the Academy. He noticed familiar faces until he stopped at one face in particular, the face of his teacher, the face of his, in his eyes, older brother, Umino Iruka. Iruka noticed his stare as he looked at the boy with a flurry of emotions present until he noticed that the Third was beside the boy, placing his hand on the boy's shoulder, getting his attention to go forward to the table for the finalize the registration process and start their first day at the Academy.

"Pleasure to see you as always, Hokage-sama," Iruka said with a bow and a smile as he, then, eyed the young Uzumaki beside the village's leader. "Are you here to finish up registration for Uzumaki Naruto here?" Iruka said this question with no emotion leaking out, knowing how the Hokage would react. The Hokage nodded with a smile and handed Iruka the paper that was put it into a folder with Naruto's name on it. "There you are, Hokage-sama. Naruto, you may go into the classroom. It's the first door on the right in the building. There should be some classmates of yours in there already."

Iruka noticed Naruto look at him and flash him a different smile than the one in the picture on his roster. This smile was a lot warmer, a lot more genuine, and a lot happier and made Iruka unknowingly smile genuinely back. "Thank you, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto raced into the Academy building as the Hokage told Iruka more about Naruto, his reputation in the village, and the feelings Naruto had, the want of being acknowledged.

It painfully reminded Iruka of his own self back then, when he was in the Academy, getting ready to pass and become a Genin, as Iruka bid a good day to the Hokage who smiled at Iruka and nodded before he turned away, a glint in his eye showing that he knew something that Iruka didn't when he looked at the chunin teacher. Iruka brushed it off as he turned away, heading into his classroom of students.

XXX

Uzumaki Naruto sat at his seat, head on his desk, knowing that some students were just looking at him, whispering things they've heard from residents of Konohagakure and their parents. Naruto sighed, knowing full well he would have to deal with all these comments until he was able to show off his skills and how much he wanted to protect the village. He chuckled at this thought.

When he was originally just starting the Academy, Naruto said he wanted to become Hokage just to be acknowledged by the village of Konohagakure, to get the attention that he had so wanted all his life. After seeing all the things he had in his life, from the mission in the Mist to the whole war, Naruto knew why he wanted to be the leader of Konohagakure, the Hokage. He wanted to protect the whole village. Hell, after the war, Naruto wanted to protect everyone in the Shinobi World! It was just the way he was!

Naruto noticed Iruka walk through the door as he introduced himself and the basics of what the students would learn. The basics of chakra, handsigns, taijutsu, ninjutsu, genjutsu, and kekkai genkai as well as history of Konohagakure and the Shinobi World in general were all things that Iruka said, things that Naruto already knew himself. Then, he told them they would go into alphabetical order to introduce each other to their other classmates.

Aburame Shino mainly talked about his clan and insects, Akamichi Choji, of course, said how much he enjoyed food and playing with Shikamaru, Haruno Sakura was mostly about her finding confidence by being a kunoichi, Hyuga Hinata was about showing her skills to her family and not being as shy as she was now, Inuzuka Kiba talked about his clan and his pet, Akamaru, and Nara Shikamaru talked of how troublesome everything was and how he enjoyed cloud watching and shogi. Along with Sakura's, Uchiha Sasuke's introduction slightly surprised Naruto. This was mainly because of how used he was to the brooding, revenge driven Sasuke and his introduction in his timeline when they were a genin team.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. What I like is training and my family. What I dislike is when my tou-san praises my nii-san and not me. My dream is to become a great shinobi to bring honor to my clan."

Once Sasuke was done, Iruka's eyes hit Naruto, who looked back at Iruka. "Uzumaki Naruto, you're next."

In an instant, everyone's eyes fell upon him, full of a wide variety of emotion, from hatred to curiosity. Naruto gulped as the pressure was like a kunai in front of his throat. He put his hands onto his desk and he rose his body up, looking at all the faces that looked up at him since he was in the very back row. He let out a held in breath and looked seriously at everyone before him. Then, suddenly, his mouth curved into a smile.

"Hello, my name is Uzumaki Naruto! My likes are training and ramen, especially ramen from Ichiraku Ramen! What I hate are people who are judgmental and mock people and the minutes you have to wait for ramen to cook." Naruto noticed almost everyone sweat drop at his talk of ramen. "And my dream…" Naruto closed his fist, put it against his chest, made one of his genuine smiles, and had a childish gleam in his eyes. "…is to surpass the Hokage and protect everyone that is precious to me…" His eyes then became downcast, catching the more observant people in the class' attention. "…to make sure that they will not be harmed…"

Iruka wondered what made the boy talk so much of precious people when almost everyone in the village was against him. Though the boy did have the Third and the people of Ichiraku Ramen to help him out so those were his precious people. It may be because those were all Naruto had. If Naruto lost them, he would be nothing. Iruka could tell at least that, and felt a little bad for the young boy.

Iruka smiled lightly at the blond. "Thanks for that, Naruto! You may sit down now."

Naruto smiled lightly back and sat down as Iruka called Ino to stand and introduce herself, Naruto feeling that this was exactly the same as back then. Iruka, then, began to talk about the basics of shinobi such as ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu, and chakra. Naruto just put his head down and barely listened to Iruka, already clearly knowing all this. Naruto still kept his ears pealed and was surprised with what Iruka said next.

"Alright, since we've introduced ourselves and went over the basics, I want to see what you guys and girls can do. We're going to have a little sparing match."

XXX

Naruto was definitely surprised by what was going on, watching as the matches went on, and seeing Iruka talk about the Sign of Combat and Sign of Harmony. This didn't originally happen until after the Uchiha Clan Massacre with Naruto losing to Sasuke, noticing the look in his eyes. He did notice that the matches were the same as Choji and Shikamaru went up, only for it to end by forfeit because Shikamaru didn't really want to fight. Naruto smiled at this before hearing Iruka complain about Shikamaru not wanting to spar, not wanting to put up any effort.

Naruto eyed Iruka picking up the clipboard as Iruka announced his name and Sasuke's name. Almost instantly, Naruto heard the cheers of the girls rise, shouting out Sasuke's name to heavens. Naruto put his finger in his ear as he walked up, seeing Sasuke right in front of him.

"Arg, could you calm down your fan club, Sasuke? I think I might go deaf!" Naruto said to Sasuke, his eye moving over to Sakura for a second, seeing that she wasn't cheering for Sasuke, merely asking Ino something while pointing over to Sasuke.

Sasuke scowled for a moment and, then, let out a sigh. "I wish I could…" He, then, smiled at Naruto, who smiled back, but, then, had a shocked look on his face when Sakura looked at him, pointing at him while saying something to Ino, who looked at him and sneered. Naruto frowned before looking at Sasuke.

"Alright, Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, get into stance and make the Sign of Combat!" Both did so as they held their smiles.

"Good luck, Sasuke." Naruto said to which Sasuke had a surprised look on his face before smiling at the blond.

"You too…, idiot," Sasuke said in a playful, friendly tone, getting Naruto to broaden his smile, glad that he was friendly with Sasuke. At least until the Uchiha Clan Massacre…

"Begin!" Iruka said loudly as Naruto and Sasuke charged at one another, fists drawn back.

Naruto launched his forward, having Sasuke catch it. Sasuke smirked at the shocked blond before unleashing a fast fist at him. Sasuke's usually calm stoic face grew shocked when Naruto grinned, caught his incoming fist and moved his body to loosen his fist from Sasuke's grip. Naruto grabbed Sasuke's chest and lightly pushed him to the ground, hovering over him, gripping onto Sasuke's shirt. Sasuke scowled as Iruka was about to declare Naruto the winner. The Uchiha flexed his legs back and hit Naruto hard in the stomach, pushing Naruto away. Sasuke quickly took control as he flipped up and used his speed to grapple Naruto, pushing him to the ground.

Naruto opened his unknowingly closed eyes to see a fist in front of his face and a smiling face, a face that belonged to Sasuke. Iruka looked at the two as Naruto just nodded in defeat.

"Alright, Uchiha Sasuke is the victor." Cheers erupted from the girls in the class as Sasuke got up from his position and put a hand down toward Naruto.

"Here, idiot, let me pull you up." Naruto smiled and nodded, extending his hand to Sasuke's before Sasuke pulled him up. "Dang, you're heavy. You need to cut down on that ramen."

Naruto pouted and yelled, "Hey!" before smiling at Sasuke. Iruka smiled at the interaction between his students. "Now, make the Sign of Harmony and we can move on with our day."

Naruto and Sasuke approached each other, lightly smiling at each other, before putting their two fingers together, making the Sign of Harmony.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Those rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

The Savior That Can't Be Saved

Chapter 5:

Academy Days: The Decision to Change!

Naruto awoke and smiled at the new day before him. It had been a least a year since he went back in time. He was definitely used to his younger body, liking that he was actually able to move quite a bit faster since his body was light. He was probably as fast as Sasuke right now, but that was great since Sasuke was always pretty fast and had great reflexes. Maybe he inherited it from his family. After all, Naruto had seen Uchiha Itachi in action and he was on a plain that Naruto had once thought would not be accessible, not able to get onto.

Since Naruto had already been through sage training, he could access Sennin Mode. The only form Naruto could not yet access was the Kyuubi Chakra Mode. This was because he had not taken control of Kurama in this timeline. Hopefully, he could work out something where he could go to the Waterfall of Truth and conquer Kurama. With him already friendly with the Nine-Tails, it shouldn't be as hard as it was when he last did it. Plus he would have the help of his mother…

Naruto smiled sadly at the thought of his mom. That was definitely a positive experience in this: getting to see his mother again. Not only his mom, but he would be able to see his father as well. While that might be a long ways away, Naruto could wait… Wait, what if he didn't need their help this time…? What if he doesn't go Six-Tails against Pain and it starts to go to Nine-Tails? What if he conquers Kurama without having the help of his mother…? Then…, he wouldn't see them.

Naruto shook his head. _You idiot, you need to think of the positives, not the negatives. _

Naruto looked at his hair, flowing more toward his cerulean eyes as it almost reached toward his shoulders, the look exactly similar to his father's at his age. Naruto smiled at his face, the face that reminded him of his mother, smiling, and tears of joy cascading down her face as she wrapped him in one last hug. The crimson swirl on his chest didn't help reminding him of his parents, the symbol of his clan clearly shown to the world as it was surrounded by black. He looks at his black pants, noticing the orange strip that went down them as he smiled at the lines. After all, he still loved the color orange.

The blond Academy student made sure he had all his ninja tools in case that Iruka had planned a surprise test on accuracy or some other thing with their tools. Naruto, however, always made sure because he wanted them by his side. They were his ally, nothing could change that. He admired how he looked in the mirror, pleased with his appearance. His cerulean eyes sparkled as he raced out his door, ready for his next day at the Ninja Academy.

XXX

Uchiha Mikoto called down her sons, smiling at the smiling, eager face of Sasuke and slightly frowned at the emotionless face of her older son, Uchiha Itachi. Itachi wore a short sleeved black shirt with the clan symbol appearing proudly on his back and black pants as he went straight to where his shoes were laid out, slipping them on. Mikoto's frown widened on her face as the two boy's father, Uchiha Fugaku, appeared with a slight smile when he saw Itachi, wishing him luck in training to become an ANBU, saying that it would be important for the clan. Itachi merely nodded in reply to his father, his mouth not moving at all.

Mikoto noticed the emotionless eyes of her elder son drift to the saddened face of his brother for a slight moment before turning toward the door. That's when she decided to speak to him. He was drifting farther away from not only his father, but his brother Sasuke, and her too. While she was always closer to Sasuke, just like how Fugaku was closer to Itachi than Sasuke, she still deeply cared for Itachi and knew when he wasn't as close as he used to be. She could barely read Itachi, but she could tell slightly when he started to drift from the clan, almost like he wasn't a part of the family.

"Itachi-kun, could you at least eat breakfast with us before you go train for the day? You haven't sat down at the table with us for a while and it seems you're drifting farther from not just most of the clan members, but your own family as well." She looked at Sasuke's sad face, getting an idea from when she saw Itachi's slight gaze on his brother. "I bet Sasuke would love to talk to you about what is happening at the Academy or just have the pleasure of seeing you at the table to eat. Wouldn't you, Sasuke-kun?

Sasuke's face shot up to look at Itachi as he smiled slightly embarrassed with a light tint of a blush on his pale face. "Yes… Could you please sit and eat with us, Nii-san…?"

Mikoto noted the light smile that danced on Itachi's face, which looked to have secretly, slightly brightened up at what his little brother asked. Mikoto's smile widened when Itachi went up to a chair across from Sasuke, beside Fugaku, and said, "Fine, Sasuke… I would love to hear your stories of the Academy... Along with the progress you have made over the past year… Maybe I could help you with something at some time if I'm not busy."

Itachi hid a chuckle when he saw Sasuke's excited face, just smiling as he listened to Sasuke's conversation, along with Mikoto and surprisingly Fugaku. Mikoto happily noticed this, knowing Fugaku loved Sasuke, just not showing it as much as he did with Itachi. Mikoto, then, shook her head and focused on her youngest son, who was talking about his days at the Academy. She giggled at his pouting face when he mention his fangirls, encouraged him when he told them of his test scores and performance, but there was one thing, no, one person that got the attention of all the room on Sasuke and Sasuke alone.

The moment the name left the young Uchiha's mouth, the room was deadly silence as if the moment Sasuke spoke the name, all of the people around them would die from talking of this said person. Mikoto held back the emotion that name gave her, an emotion she wish she would not have felt, an emotion she wish she could just forget, but even if she forgot it, that wouldn't keep that feeling she felt from coming back to haunt her. Fugaku stiffened slightly, knowing of the name, knowing of the name's meaning, knowing of who this person truly was. His hidden hands tightened as his knuckles turned ghost white. He didn't want to remember the ones who gave birth to the person who held this name, but he couldn't help it, his face gaining a scowl. Itachi was calm, but his parents could tell that Itachi knew of the person who held this name, and knew this person's purpose in this world.

That name was…

"Uzumaki Naruto, the one person that I feel is stronger than me at the Academy, the one friend I have…"

_Friend… _Fugaku thought, his eyes narrowing, his hands tightening further, and his face becoming unknown, only showing his angry, sealing away the calm Fugaku, the 'kind' Fugaku. Fugaku chuckled darkly. _How could an Uchiha, especially an Uchiha that was the son of the clan head, be friends with… that jinchuriki, that boy…? He holds the very thing that keeps us under watchful eyes… He is to blame for what is happening to our once glorious clan… The same with the members of the Senju Clan from back then… Still, their relatives still bug me, like that jinchuriki… Their eyes still hold the same contempt of the Uchiha… I have to stop him from mingling with that boy… No good will become of it at all… Only bad…_

Fugaku held his clan in high regard. He was an excellent clan head from what most Uchiha said. He knows that the Kyuubi attack six years ago was blamed on them because only an Uchiha clan member was known to be able to control the Kyuubi, other than the long dead Senju Hashirama, the only majorly known Senju with the ability to suppress the Kyuubi with his Wood Release ninjutsu. It was obvious the village would blame the clan that was known to have this power, fearing of what that very clan would do to Konohagakure. The people of the village still felt the wounds that the Kyuubi attack left them with. People who knew of Uchiha Madara still feared what would happen, knowing of the destruction the Kyuubi made in the attack that created the Valley of the End when it was under control of the most powerful Uchiha in the history of the clan.

Not only that, Fugaku knew that the present Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, was no slouch at all. He knew that the old man suspected it, but being the kind hearted man he was, didn't want to enclose the clan to their district, but he was overpowered by the council and the elders. The elders reminded the fierce Fugaku of one in particular, Shimura Danzo. Fugaku always hated that man more than the Hokage, knowing that the man was always hidden in the shadows, plotting something against him and his clan. The Uchiha clan head always had the suspicion that Danzo was the one that suggested that the Uchiha become a police force for the village, to be secretly watched by ANBU, but these ANBU seemed different from most ANBU, detached and purely emotionless, even more emotionless than Itachi.

Fugaku shook with rage at what garbage was coming out of his younger son's mouth. These words of sparing, laughing, happiness, growing in strength by the side of the thing that condemned his very family, his very clan enraged the man. They enraged him so much that his emotions took over, his arm lifting up quickly from the table, noticing that his wife and Itachi noticed his quick movement. He fiercely, swiftly pushed his arm into the kitchen table where they sat, crushing the wood against his elbow as he growled at the happy moments that his son had, getting his son's attention. The boy's eyes were extremely wide, black holes that absorbed the scene before him.

"Enough! I don't want to hear of Uzumaki Naruto at this table! Actually, I don't want to see, hear, or think that you are hanging around with that brat! He doesn't deserve anything! He's someone you should avoid! You hear me?" Fugaku yelled fiercely in anger at Sasuke, who nodded, scared to argue while Mikoto glared secretly at her son taking away the one thing, other than Itachi, that Sasuke was attached to. "Good…" Fugaku rose from his seat, not caring about the wooden table they had had for years that now lay broken on the ground, leaving his family behind him.

Itachi rose from his seat, "I'll be going, Kaa-san…" Itachi went ahead, leaving the two in silence when he saw his mother silently nod at him.

The mother and son sat in their place for a moment before Mikoto told Sasuke that he had to go to the Academy or he would be late.

Sasuke still held his sadness in his black pools, rising from his seat, picking up his pack, and slowly walking out of his home, causing his mother to stare at his back sadly, almost as if she was in the same pain that he was in right there.

But she didn't have to be in the same pain, she could just feel it…

And it hurt her more than anything…

XXX

Naruto was confused. Sasuke was avoiding him. And since Sasuke was avoiding him, everyone else was as well. All the people he had gotten to know because they loved Sasuke or were intimidated by the Uchiha were now as far away from the blond as possible. Iruka spoke of the Genin Selection Exam that was taking place today. Naruto had an idea of wanting to complete the Genin test since the Academy lessons were boring anyway. He was up there with Sasuke in class rank.

But then Naruto would not be on a team with Sasuke or Sakura… Hell, with any of his classmates! He would be with a bunch of complete strangers. That also means that he would probably have a different sensei. After all, he wasn't sure if Kakashi was even considered as a possible sensei at this point in time. Plus, he knew that Kakashi said that no one other than Team Seven had passed his test before. Although, Naruto knew the test so he could still pass… That was only if his team members even trusted him and what he said.

Naruto was too caught up in his thoughts that he barely heard Iruka dismiss the class. That's when Naruto decided that he would talk to Sasuke, see his reaction, and decide whether or not to take the Genin Selection Exam. He raced toward Sasuke, breathing heavily as he ran.

"Sasuke!" The Uchiha stopped and turned with a glare, shocking Naruto. "H-Hey! What's with the glare all of a sudden?"

"Just get the hell away from me…"

Naruto was shocked. "What…?"

"I said, 'Get the hell away from me!'" He grunted as he looked fiercely at Naruto, a look that shook Naruto to the core. "I shouldn't have been so close to you… I'm an Uchiha… and you're just a some shinobi wannabe with no clan… So, stick far away from me… or else…" The 'or else' was said icily as Sasuke turned away from the shocked Naruto, walking to his compound where the rest of his clan was.

Naruto stood still and decided what he wanted to do. He turned back to the Academy, remembering the look Sasuke gave him, and went into the building, ready to take the exam. He would pass the exam, become a chunin , become a jonin, and be Sasuke's sensei!

After all, that look reminded him to much of the destroyer's apprentice… not Sasuke…

That look reminded him too much of the past…

The past that he just wanted to forget, the past that he regrets…


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Those rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

The Savior That Can't Be Saved

Chapter 6:

A Genin Once Again: The Tearing of Two Friends…

Naruto grinned, holding tightly to the metal plated fabric that was his headband, rushing to his abode from school. Iruka told him that he could meet Naruto up at Ichiraku Ramen and he even invited the Third Hokage there as well. Naruto couldn't wait, so much that he accidently bumped into a tall gentleman who was with his family. The blond Uzumaki softly cursed at not looking at his surroundings as he got up and was about to apologize when he saw who he bumped into and who was around him, Uchiha Fugaku and his wife, Uchiha Mikoto, along with their sons, Uchiha Sasuke and Uchiha Itachi. Some of the civilians began to even stare at what happened, stopping to watch the scene.

Naruto bowed his head, knowing better than to anger the Uchiha clan head, knowing of Sasuke's temper firsthand. "I'm sorry, Uchiha-san. I just was in a rush and didn't look where I was going. This was my fault entirely."

Fugaku looked a bit questionable, curious even, underneath the clear hatred that Naruto could see. Something about Naruto angered the Uchiha, Naruto could tell that much. It seemed to be an even bigger anger than in his old timeline. He also seemed to slightly narrow his eyebrows when he looked into the boy's eyes, or spot the almost shoulder length blond hair, or the whisker marks that were displayed on his cheeks.

Fugaku grunted at the display. "Next time, do better at watching where you are going. Some people aren't as generous as I am." He, then, noticed the fabric sticking out of Naruto's hand. "What is that inside your hand, boy…?"

Naruto flinched as he looked to his hand, seeing the blue fabric of his forehead protector. "Ah, this is…"

"A forehead protector…," Itachi finished for Naruto, causing Naruto to flinch at the voice and look up to Itachi. Itachi smiled lightly, even chuckled a bit, surprising the Uzumaki. "After all, I can't think of anything else a young shinobi in training can get that would make them so eager to rush out of the Academy. Plus, if I remember right, today was one of the days for testing for the new genin squads. It makes perfect sense, right, Uzumaki Naruto-kun?"

Naruto just grinned, rubbing the back of his head, "Heh heh, yeah…, it kind of does…"

Fugaku glared back at his younger son, Sasuke, and, then, back at the blond, who kept looking at Itachi.

"Oh, if you guys are here with Sasuke, then you're his brother, Itachi-san, correct?" Itachi lightly smiled, shifting his eyes to his little brother, before turning his attention to Naruto, and nodded. Naruto smiled widely. "Cool, Sasuke has told me so many things to me about you like how strong you were and how you became a genin at age 7 and how you are going to be an ANBU commander soon!"

Itachi glimpsed at Sasuke to see a light blush of embarrassment on his face and smiled once again before looking back to Naruto with a chuckle. "True, but it seems that you have graduated the Academy at the age of six, a year before me. It seems that you are a lot stronger than what other people think from what I've seen. Though I've learned to never judge anyone's strength based of someone's feelings or opinions, I learn someone's strength by seeing them in combat or even going into combat with that person."

Sasuke scowled at Naruto, at the headband that lay inside his hand, feeling angry and jealous that the Uzumaki passed him, an Uchiha, up and became a genin so fast. He could tell his father wasn't pleased that the boy before them became a genin before his own son. Sasuke knew that his dad would drag his spirit down even more. He just wanted to be acknowledged by his father! Sasuke gritted his teeth. How was Naruto able to pass him up? How was this boy, of no clan, without a kekkai genkai, able to become a shinobi before an Uchiha, a member of an elite clan? How!

"Yeah," Naruto chuckled, "that's true. You're pretty smart, Itachi-san."

"I am sure you have some smarts if you were able to turn into a genin at your age, Naruto-kun." Itachi said, softly, noticing that his father was only getting angrier the longer they were standing with the boy before them.

"Eh, I don't really think tha-"

"Oh, aren't you modest, Uzumaki Naruto…" Fugaku interrupted the young boy with his dark voice, showing that he was obviously angry at the boy. "But I think it's all just an act, eh, jinchuriki…?"

Naruto's eyes widened, not staring at Fugaku, not allowing him to see that he already knew of his burden. Naruto changed his look into a look of puzzlement, of confusion. "What is a jinchuriki, Uchiha-san…?"

Mikoto's eyes widened, no longer in her state of sadness over the death of her old friend, Uzumaki Kushina, knowing of what her husband was going to reveal. "Fugaku, no! You know that you cannot speak of that to the boy! What are you even thinking?"

"Shut up, Mikoto! I know what I am doing! Don't ever say that to me!" Fugaku yelled fiercely while looking, glaring down upon the young boy with a deadly smirk. "Oh, but that is what you are, boy… You are Uzumaki Naruto, the jinchuriki of Konogakure, the host of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox! You hold that damned demon that attacked Konohagakure in your body! Didn't you see the glares, Uzumaki… The hatred on the villagers' faces… Do you see the hatred on my face, Uzumaki Naruto… Do you see the anger that has built up to this very day… the anger that you, boy, have caused… You made me like this, boy! You made the village like this…"

Mikoto gasped at the look on Naruto's face as he merely looked at Sasuke, eyes wide, body shaking, gasping breaths, and tears that started to flow down his eyes… She knew of how much the Kyuubi made the Uchiha clan angry. She knew how much that demon destroyed and marked the fate of her family, her clan, but, yet, she could not help but feel pain for the very boy that held the demon inside his body, the boy of her deceased friend, the boy who was breaking right in front of her. She wanted to do something, but she knew that would anger her husband even more. Once more, she knew that Sasuke would not want to be around this boy, this boy that he was once so attached to, because of his father. It was like Naruto's pain was her pain. She held her hands to her chest, trying to keep her heart from breaking completely.

The villagers were stunned, but some knew that they would tell their sons and daughters. After all, the clan head revealed it to some of Naruto's classmates right here, right now. Naruto stepped back, looking at the world around him, and started shaking even more. He saw a wide-eyed Shikamaru, muttering something to his father, who wore a frown. He saw Choji, no longer eating chips, mouth agape. He saw many other unknowable faces that whispered to their parents, scared looks on their faces. But, most importantly, he saw a shocked Sasuke in front of him.

"No…," Naruto whispered, "I'm not a demon…" Naruto shook with anger and glared at the clan head of the Uchiha. "You think that all you want, Fugaku-san… Because the way of thinking is going to lead you to an early death…"

Fugaku grew a calm look as Naruto began to turn and walk away. "No, Uzumaki Naruto, my way of thinking will bring Konoha into a new era, just you wait…"

Naruto just kept going, knowing that in a year, Fugaku would be laying on the ground, covered in blood.

AN: I know this chapter was very short, but I wanted to put something out at the very least. And, yes, I know Fugaku is really acting like a douche in this fic, but I think he is in too much anger about what is happening to his clan. He is angry at the village, at the Hokage, at the Kyuubi, at Naruto. It all adds up to Sasuke becoming close to him, and then Naruto becoming a genin to put him over the edge. I just think that while Fugaku may be calm most of the time, he lets his anger fester and then lets it all out at one moment, kind of like Sasuke in the series. How sometimes the anger just takes control of them. Anyway, the next chapter will be Naruto getting into his team and knowing who his sensei is. Plus, a confrontation between Hiruzen and Fugaku. After all, he did just tell some of the village, including some of Naruto's classmates, that he holds the Nine-Tailed Fox... That's kind of a big deal... I hope you enjoy the fic so far and what it holds in the future.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Those rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

The Savior That Can't Be Saved

Chapter 7:

The Uchiha Clan Head's Decision: The Moment That Decided Konohagakure's Fate

Uchiha Itachi was racing to the Hokage's office, knowing that he should tell the old man about his father, the clan, and the plot to take over Konohagakure. He knew that he should have tried to become an ANBU faster in order to become an ANBU commander, but it's hard enough to get into ANBU in the first place. After all, a lot of shinobi still distrust the Uchiha after the Kyuubi attack taking place six years ago. Though most of the shinobi acknowledged that Itachi was definitely not like most, if not all, Uchiha clan members and were willing to talk and even work with him on shinobi affairs and missions.

The moon had a silver glow that radiated to the shinobi village, shining even in the darkness of the surrounding night sky. Itachi looked slightly at the moon with one of his coal black eyes as he rushed forward to the Hokage tower only to see a barrage of incoming shuriken. The young Uchiha pulled out a kunai from one of his pouches and moved the shinobi knife forward in a swift, elegant manner. The shuriken clashed with the kunai, falling in front of Itachi, who had his Sharingan active. Itachi saw a target below him by a river so he went forward, rushing toward the water and the person that was there. Itachi was certainly shocked, his eyes widening a bit at who was before him and the condition of this person.

This person had dark unkempt hair that was laid on his head, a broad nose on his face, a short sleeved shirt, and a single crimson Sharingan eye. The other eye was missing, closed as it had a bunch of blood coming out of its socket, covering it in the crimson liquid. Oddly, the single Sharingan had a unique design to it. The design seemed to be like a shuriken as the eye stared at Itachi. A tanto was on the young man's back as he looked at Itachi calmly, but he obvious looked tired and worn, probably from a fight. There was tears and cuts on his body, though they weren't life threatening from what Itachi could see.

"Itachi-kun…" Shisui smiled weakly at his friend, who looked to not be as shocked as he was, merely concerned.

"Shisui-kun, what happened? Who attacked you?" Itachi asked more loudly than he usually would, truly worried for his closest friend.

Shisui looked seriously yet calm in this dire situation as he noticed Itachi relax. "It was Shimura Danzo… He said that his plans would have to come in motion sooner than expected and fought me with a bunch of his Root or Ne shinobi forces… He caught me in a corner and took one of my eyes… I feared something like this would happen, and I didn't think it would occur this quick at all… Though your father did spill that S-Class Secret… It seems Danzo didn't think this would happen or at least not this quickly so he took one of my Sharingan eyes… What's worse is that he could use the Kotoamatsukami if he wanted to or needed…

"He's crafty and intelligent, that Danzo… He won't use it unless it's a last resort… I can tell you that… But it seems that he has weakened me so much that I fear I am about to die… I have one thing to give to you Itachi-kun… before I die…" Shisui moved his hand until Itachi went forward, hand extended, gripping his friend's arm. "Itachi… let me do this… I'll make it out like I committed suicide and crushed my Sharingan so that no one would access them… I don't think it would be good to stay alive… Danzo may come after me once again… I want to give you my eye, to protect Konohagakure, our village, our home… and to protect the Uchiha clan, our family, from throwing themselves away in order to have another country invade the village while it is weak… just so they might rise to power…

"I swear that your father is a fool… What he is trying to do will not work out… At least it shouldn't…" Shisui got his arm out of Itachi's grip and put his fingers on the lids of his remaining eye. "Itachi-kun… put this eye somewhere no one will get to it… a place where you know you can keep it safe…" Itachi nodded and bit his thumb, going through a series of hand signs before setting his hand on the ground. _Summoning Technique! _

A crow appeared, cawing for a moment as Shisui pulled his Sharingan eye out of his socket and handed it to Itachi. Itachi immediately transplanted the eye into the crow, causing the bird to shriek in pain until it was complete and the crow vanished from existence and into a puff of smoke. Itachi looked at the eyeless Shisui, who smiled at his friend. Itachi felt a pain in his chest as he looked at his friend, whose eye sockets had blood covering them. Shisui handed Itachi a piece of paper with writing in his handwriting on it.

Itachi looked at him after looking at the note. "That's the note that you can give to the Third Hokage, telling him about the situation and he can deal with it from there… Make it out like I committed suicide, which is pretty much what I am doing…" Shisui chuckled sadly, looking at Itachi. "Discard of my body after inflicting the finishing blow to me… Make sure no trace of me is left… I don't want my dead body to be used to create more Uchiha for enemies of the village or our clan… That would dishonor this village and our family… and you, Itachi…"

Itachi frowned at his friend, "You know that I won't do that to you, Shisui-kun… How could you ask me to kill you…? How could you ask that kind of thing from me with a smile, Shisui-kun? How could you do this to the village, our clan… to me? How could you tell me to ki-?"

"Itachi!" Shisui yelled at Itachi, making the teen flinch and look at his friend, who held a smile once again. "I want you to gain the Mangekyo Sharingan like I did… I know it hurts… I understand that all too well… But I would rather have my death give you a blessing then a curse… So, just do it and end it, Itachi…"

Itachi gripped the kunai he held earlier to deflect the shuriken, still out of his pouch as he dashed toward Shisui at amazing pace before stabbing right through Shisui's chest. Shisui gasped, blood launching out of his mouth, landing on the green grass blades on the ground as he smiled at Itachi once again, moving from Itachi, coughing out some blood. Itachi's chest fell, feeling broken and he felt water generating inside his eyes, but the water stayed put, never falling.

"Thank you… so much…, Itachi-kun…" Shisui said with his last breath, weakly with a smile before falling forward onto the ground.

Itachi's eyes became his Sharingan, and then his Mangekyo Sharingan as a stream of blood began to form in his right eye. _Amaterasu! _Furious black flames came out of Itachi's eye, burning the corpse of Uchiha Shisui. Itachi watched as the flames took away the body of his dear friend. While this happened, a stream fell out of his left eye. It was a stream of tears…

"Please don't thank me, Shisui-kun… I don't deserve thanks from someone like you… After what I have done… Though I will take care of your blessing… and your eye… or I'll end my own life…"

XXX

Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed, getting up from his desk, calling it a night. He smiled at the pile of papers that he stamped. _At least I got all the paperwork done today… Though today has been a bad day… a horrible day… _

The Third Hokage had heard about Fugaku blurting out that Naruto was a jinchuriki right to the boy's face. He would definitely deal with that man. The Uchiha Clan definitely seemed to be up to something in the past few months and it involved the young Uchiha Itachi trying to get into ANBU. He knew from the look on Itachi's face that mostly his father Fugaku wanted the young teen to become an ANBU.

_Something is definitely up…_

Suddenly, a figure that rushed into the office got the Sarutobi's full attention. It was Uchiha Itachi.

"Itachi-kun, what is up? I was just about to leave for the night, but I think I can listen to what you have to say." The Hokage said with a kind smile and a laugh, but stopped soon at Itachi's expression of loss.

"You'll definitely have to hear what I have to say, Hokage-sama…," Itachi said calmly.

"Whatever do you mean by that, Itachi-kun," Hiruzen asked, looking at the young Uchiha.

"The Uchiha Clan is planning a rebellion to take over Konohagakure once and for all…"

XXX

Uzumaki Naruto was walking, a Konohagakure blue headband displayed proudly on his forehead. He just kept going, not paying attention to the whispers, the pointing fingers, and the onslaught of insults that Naruto could hear, even when people thought he couldn't hear them. Each word sent a kunai to his heart, every other word twisting the kunai even deeper into his heart.

_Demon… monster… Kyuubi… jinchuriki… _

Words such as those stung the boy, but the pain was worse than a sting from a bee. They left scar that had never healed until he was accepted by the village. The thing was the way the village was going, he might not even become accepted or it might take longer to actually be accepted by most of the village. After all, even in the last timeline where he had protected the village and became a hero, he was still hated by some of the villagers and shinobi like Shimura Danzo.

Either way, this timeline was going to definitely be different than the other one… By now, that was a complete given. After all, Fugaku spilled out that Naruto held the Nine-Tailed Fox inside him. Plus, he was already a genin, six years before the original timeline. Though he already knew most of the answers on the written test, if not all, and he had many jutsu already under his belt, such as the Shadow Clone Technique. He had, technically, many years of being a shinobi on his side, and he was used to his smaller frame definitely.

The only thing that upset him was his chakra pool. The amount of chakra in his body compared to the other timeline when he was a genin was like comparing a worm to a snake. Though Naruto still had huge reserves for a genin, as he always had, he still couldn't pull off jutsu like the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken without exhausting his chakra reserves to empty, or really close to empty. This was to be predicted though, he was merely six years old, whereas in the other time line, he was twelve years old when he was a genin. He could still produce a hefty amount of Shadow Clones, and have enough chakra to do battle with a well-skilled individual.

_I couldn't hope to take on a highly skilled jonin like Kakashi-sensei though… _Naruto chuckled at his thought. _Plus Kakashi-sensei already is a skilled jonin by this time or an ANBU. I remember him telling me one time how Ojii-san had him, every year; take a team of genin under his wing, only for them to fail his test… _Then Naruto stopped chuckling inwardly and a frown appeared on his face as his cerulean eyes grew cloudy in sadness when he thought this one thought. _…until Team Seven… our squad… Sasuke… Sakura-chan… Kakashi-sensei… _

The thought of Sasuke brought even more sadness on his face. He was definitely going to have a harder time becoming friends with the young Uchiha. Speaking of Uchiha, Naruto wondered what would happen to Fugaku. After all, he did spill out a pretty big secret… an S-Class secret in fact… If that wasn't big, Naruto didn't think what was.

Naruto shook his head of the thoughts that randomly appeared in his head, deciding to just rush forward to the Academy.

XXX

An ANBU, wearing a plain white mask, moved swiftly to the Uchiha compound, his long black ponytail falling down the middle of his back. He was stopped by two Uchiha who looked like they were pissed off at something. They glared at the ANBU that had landed swiftly, skillfully, in front of them. They were standing right at the gate of the compound, clearly not liking their job, but there was obviously something other than their job that was making them anger; that much the ANBU, Uchiha Itachi, could tell easily. Though he was always great at reading emotions, just as good as hiding his own…

Itachi cleared his throat and gave his voice a deeper quality, so these Uchiha wouldn't recognize his voice. After all, it is best to be cautious. "Good morning, Uchiha-san, Uchiha-san. By word of the Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen-sama, I was called to bring one Uchiha Fugaku-san to the Hokage's office immediately. I hope that one of you can get Fugaku-san, or get someone that can get him or knows of his location at this time. I would be grateful if you would do so."

One of the Uchiha sneered and grunted a "Fine" and departed into the compound. The other Uchiha looked suspiciously at Itachi. Itachi raised his eyebrow at the action of the Uchiha, wondering if he was already identified. Itachi pointed at his mask in a joking manner. "Is there something on my face, Uchiha-san…?"

The Uchiha just sweatdropped and turned away from the ANBU as the other Uchiha appeared with Fugaku in front of him. Fugaku just looked as calm as usual, staring at the unfamiliar ANBU before him, noticing that the plain white mask meant he was a new recruit of the Hokage's. Itachi could tell by his father's eyes that he was at least a bit curious of him, but that was to be expected.

"Here he is," the Uchiha said as Itachi nodded from under the mask and approached Fugaku.

"Let us go then, Fugaku-san. The Hokage is eagerly awaiting your arrival."

Fugaku hid a smirk at what the new ANBU soldier said. "So am I…"

XXX

Naruto just sat with various other genin hopefuls as the squads were announced with all the teams featuring shinobi Naruto had no clue about. Naruto sighed; glad his fellow classmates would not see him and that he became a genin. This whole thing didn't make Naruto as interested as he thought it would be. After all, these names were gibberish that held no meaning to Naruto. That was until his squad was announced…

"Squad Thirteen: Uzumaki Naruto," Naruto stayed like he was, noticing some eyes glancing at him, "Uchiha Eri," Naruto looked more serious, knowing that there was an Uchiha that might know Sasuke on his team, that also meant that maybe Kakashi was their sensei, "and Odoroku Akemi." Naruto heard a headbang at that to the side in the back row of seats, where he sat, and looked to see a red-headed girl , who looked to be about Ayame's age, with black coal eyes, rubbing her head. The blond guessed that she was Akemi. "Your sensei is Hatake Kakashi."

Iruka was about to start on the next team, as Naruto smiled at having Kakashi as a teacher again, when an ANBU came into the classroom and whisper something to a completely shocked Iruka. He grew a tick-mark at first, but was calmed by the ANBU. Iruka sighed and, then, looked straight at Naruto.

"Naruto, you are to report to the Hokage's office right now. It seems to be about something very important." All the children in the classroom looked at Naruto, some even making noises to signal that Naruto was in trouble which made some laugh. Iruka yelled at the class while Naruto left the room with the ANBU, wondering what exactly was going on, even if he already had an idea.

XXX

Uchiha Fugaku sat in front of the desk of the Hokage, the ANBU in the white mask still behind him, standing by the door. Fugaku had a smirk on his face, his decision made, his plan set into motion. He had already told the Uchiha yesterday to plan for him being sent to the Hokage for his outburst. He knew that his clan members were at the ready, or at least the one's that trusted him. He growled silently at his wife not wanting to help, going against him. Most of the Uchiha followed him to his glee. He just needed the right moment to pounce and strike the Hokage, the village, everything that confined his clan, everything that destroyed it slowly from the inside…

"So, let's talk, Fugaku…" The Hokage spoke, looking out his window, not facing the smirking Uchiha head.

Fugaku now bore a twisted smile, chuckling low enough that no one other than himself heard it, "Yes, let's do that, Saurtobi Hiruzen-san…"


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Those rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

The Savior That Can't Be Saved

Chapter 8:

The Uchiha's Hatred vs. The Village's Will: The Emotions That Went Over The Edge.

"From what I've heard, you let out of your lips a secret that I said, under no circumstances unless I deem otherwise, should not be uttered, especially to those of the new generation of shinobi that are starting the Academy and becoming ninja." The old Sarutobi tightened his fists, still looking out toward the village, feeling foolish that he had not taken better precautions. Now, the secret of who Uzumaki Naruto truly was revealed to the entire village. Little did he know Naruto kept an even deeper secret inside of him that no one knew yet. "I believe you know exactly what I'm talking about, Uchiha Fugaku…"

Fugaku snorted quietly as the Hokage continued to talk to the man. "That means that you know exactly what is going to happen to you… You must be punished for what you have done…"

"Then, where is the punishment for those Senju…?" Fugaku whispered the question harshly, talking about all the restraints they had put on the Uchiha, punishing them for a reason that none of them were guilty of.

Hiruzen stopped, stood up and rigid, perfectly still like a stone statue once he looked straight at the eyes of the Uchiha who was sitting in his office. "What did you say, Fugaku…?"

"Where is the punishment for those that blamed us for the attack on this forsaken village? Where is the justice for those who made us of the Uchiha Clan an escape-goat for the attack that could have easily been the negligence of a Hokage that was incompetent and not worthy of ever being the one to guard this village?" The leader of Konohagakure narrowed his eyebrows and his eyes were fiercely glaring at the face of Uchiha Fugaku. "Where is the punishment for the one that contains the beast that set into motion everything that has led up to this day?" Fugaku bared his teeth, growling at the short man in front of him as suddenly everything was quiet until there was a knock on the door, almost like fate was behind the door. Fugaku glared at the door as the one with the mask looked to the door and, then, to Hiruzen and the Uchiha clan head.

"I'll take care of who's behind the door. It's probably _**him…**_"

Hiruzen smiled at what the masked ANBU said, deciding to do something that would get a definite reaction out of the leader of the Uchiha, "Very well…, Itachi-kun…"

With that, Fugaku froze, his eyes no longer bearing as much hatred as before, as he looked at the ANBU, who gripped his mask, "You did it…, Itachi…"

"Yes, Tou-san…," Itachi said in his usual emotionless voice, moving his mask over to show the angry look he had on his face, showing how upset he was with what his father had caused, "I became an ANBU…"

XXX

Uzumaki Naruto was outside the Hokage office, still wondering what was happening behind that door. The ANBU knocked on the door, said something to a white masked ANBU, who just nodded as the ANBU vanished from sight. The white masked ANBU looked over at Naruto, who just saw two shining crimson eyes that has three tomoe on it, allowing Naruto to know he was staring at one of the Uchiha. It wasn't until Naruto heard the voice that he knew who exactly who it was behind the mask.

"Uzumaki Naruto, please come inside here. The Hokage seeks your presence in this matter at hand. After all, it deals with you on a personal level." The voice said, allowing Naruto to know who was behind the mask.

"Very well, Itachi-san…" Naruto unconsciously said as he entered the office, unknowingly getting Itachi's attention at noticing him, even if he did purposely use his normal voice.

With that, Itachi saw Sarutobi Hiruzen go through hand signs and put a hand on his desk as a yellow light beamed off in a circle, showing that this was a barrier and that this Hokage meant business. Fugaku also knew this as well as Naruto, noticing the hand signs as some kind of barrier ninjutsu that while wasn't strong, it would most likely last as long as the old man needed. Hiruzen looked sorrowfully at the blond boy that had entered, causing him to quickly look at the picture of the Yondaime Hokage and, then, back at the boy.

_Minato-kun… _The Third Hokage thought as he looked fiercely at Fugaku's back, as the man was looking at the blond who had entered the office of the leader of Konohagakure. _Is this the decision you would have made…? Is this how you would handle this type of situation… like the Kyuubi attack…? How would you deal with the uprising of one of the most powerful shinobi clans in the history of the ninja world…? Honestly, _he chuckled bitterly at his forming thought; _I think I'm getting to be too old and soft for all of this… _

With those thoughts, Sarutobi Hiruzen made the first move of actions, with Fugaku yelling at Naruto about his clan, about the history of Konohagakure, about the demon fox inside his body. Hiruzen made the quick hand signs and threw his shuriken. _Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique! _Fugaku peered over to the short leader of the village that he bore a hatred of at this moment and went through hand signs so quick that Hiruzen could barely read them. After all, the Uchiha Clan is famous for their speed in reading jutsu with their Sharingan and the speed of their hand signs.

_Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique! _A volley of small ember-like fireballs burned and melted the metal shuriken with their burning power, showing how strong Fugaku was with the Fire Release jutsu, like many of the Uchiha Clan. The only thing was Hiruzen dodged the flames that were incoming, allowing them to fade in the barrier that was around the room when they hit the window overlooking the village.

Fugaku smirked as Hiruzen pulled off his Hokage attire, his hat falling on top of the desk, his robe hitting the ground by his chair as he glared at the eager Uchiha, wearing his battle outfit. "So, you are going to fight me, eh, God of Shinobi?" The way Fugaku said that was clearly mocking the Kage as Hiruzen still held his glare, but his lips curled into a smile. "Although I do wish to hurt you until you beg for mercy for what you have done to your clan, Naruto and the village I protect, I believe it is best someone else takes this fight."

Fugaku had a slightly confused look on his face. "I will be dealing with those that are surrounding the tower along with the ANBU that I have sent to take care of ones that get out of hand." Fugaku's eyes widened and he growled at what Hiruzen said to him.

"So, you knew about all of those Uchiha that are waiting to strike…? How did you know about my plans?" Fugaku said, wanting to kill the one that spoiled this moment for him.

"The one responsible for that will be the one that you fight," the Sarutobi spoke as he saw Itachi silently leave the office. "Just go to the roof of the tower… The one you want will be there waiting for you."

Fugaku merely glared at Naruto and Hiruzen one final time before rushing out of the tower, ready to crush all of those that opposed him.

XXX

Uchiha Fugaku arrived at the rooftop and saw the clouds surround the sky, dropping the rain upon the village as he noticed the barrier that Sarutobi had put around the Hokage tower had enclose the Uchiha clan, Sarutobi himself, Uzumaki Naruto, and the ANBU and various shinobi that were left to help the Hokage. Fugaku glared at the back of the figure as lightning lit up the area around them, allowing Fugaku to clearly see the figure break a white ANBU mask he had just saw in the office of the Hokage. In that moment, Fugaku finally felt anger, rage, betrayal in a magnitude he never thought would be possible.

His eyes were spinning, rotating in his spiraling rage at what had happened to his plan and who was the mastermind behind this all. He never felt this much bubbling, overflowing emotion. He never felt this betrayed, this careless. He began to feel he had lost everything… He never felt this empty! He lost the one he cared about the most! He began to feel his eyes burn and change, turning into some kind of twisted shape that looked like a mangled vortex or portal of destruction as it spun, an illusion almost. He had achieved a new state of hysteria because of his loss… The only thing was that he didn't have a new state of power, Mangekyo Sharingan. After all, this person was still alive... He felt like he had lost everything including the one he cared for more than his own wife, even though he had lost her as well.

She was not the one that caused this change in Fugaku…

"Tou-san…"

He was shaking in his rage as he remembered the young voice speaking out that affectionate name.

"Tou-san!"

He was shaking in his emotions as he remembered the older voice, showing him the headband with a symbol that he now cursed and cursed.

"Tou-san…"

He was shaking at the emotionless voice that spoke to him when the owner of the voice was rising in rank, from a young fledgling to the elegant, wise hawk that was now.

"Tou-san…"

He was shaking at this moment at the voice, at first feeling emotionless, but he could hear the hints, the tints of emotions coming out of the voice. He never thought this emotion would come across this person. He could never really read this person, even though he cared for him so much. He never thought that he would be the person to bring emotion to this young man before him. He never thought this person would be the one to betray him, even though he had his doubts, he would laugh them off and just move on with his motives.

"Tou-san…"

The voice spoke again, escalating in the emotion of hatred, anger. Fugaku shook still, kept shaking at the revelation of what was happening. The ANBU position, the function as the heart of the Uchiha, trying to become an ANBU to help take over the village, the peace-loving attitude, the war-hawk that wanted everything in his grasp to protect the village… Everything began to hit Fugaku like an Amaterasu, the effect forever hurting, burning his insides. His eyes kept feeling like they were spinning uncontrollably. He moved his head up to look at the angry face of the one that wished to end him, end his plans.

"So, in the end, you betray your family… You chose this village that has discriminated us over your own flesh and blood? Well, you did, didn't you?" Fugaku yelled in hysteria, laughing crazily as his world, his plans, his ambition was all crashing around him. Everything that he thought would be a reality ended up staying as his own twisted fantasy that he had created in his own twisted, tearing mind.

"You go on about the clan, the clan, Tou-san…" Itachi spoke with a mangled voice, showing his hatred that he had bottled up that was now releasing upon his father. "Don't you see that there's no hope for this clan? It's pathetic; you all focus on trivial things, not focusing on what can make you evolve… How can you change with this fog of ignorance? How can you evolve and change yourself when all you know is ignorance of what is really happening, what really is going on, Tou-san? Tell me how!"

Itachi's eyes spiraled into a three-pronged shuriken-type shape as he glared at his father. Both of the Uchiha stared at each other with emotions flooding off their bodies as if all they were made of was water. The emotions were now at their peak, violent waves that were tearing each other apart. Fugaku's eyes, the three tomoe no longer moving in their fierce pattern, made him feel even angrier, knowing that in the end, he had lost the battle.

But he would not lose the war!

And with that thought, Fugaku went into action.

AN: I know the chapter was short, but I wanted to put something up and I thought this would be more of a transition for what was going to happen. Also, more on Fugaku and his incoming fight with Itachi. I thought it would be fitting that Itachi and Fugaku fought as Sarutobi and his forces deal with the other Uchiha. I'm very glad you guys and girls are giving me feedback! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and the story and review to tell me your thoughts and opinions! Thank you for all the support!


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Those rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

The Savior That Can't Be Saved

Chapter 9:

The Climax: The Battles For A Better Future!

Uchiha Fugaku glared at his elder son, stopping his running, before his mouth twisted into a wicked, demonic smile and hysterical laughter came out of his throat, filling the air around the two Uchiha, as the rain poured from the clouds above them, hitting the barrier around them. Itachi looked at Fugaku, quirking his eyebrow, wondering what his father was going to go on about. Fugaku grinned sadistically as he stared at Itachi with his strange, wicked expression.

"This is the perfect time to do it!" Fugaku exclaimed outward to the air and Itachi, still holding a wide grin on his face. "I'll just kill you now, Itachi… I'll gain that new level of power that you hold! You're that dear to me, Itachi! Then, I'll take your eyes and gain the power of the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan! I'll become the next Uchiha Madara!" Fugaku still had that creepy look on his face when he stared at Itachi with a gleam in his Sharingan eyes. "Then, I'll bring in a new era, the era of the Uchiha!"

Itachi stood calmly, getting into stance, finally truly ready to take on his very father, "If that's how it is going to be, Tou-san…" Itachi glared at him fiercely with his Mangekyo Sharingan. "Then, I will stop your ambitions once and for all! I will protect Konohagakure with my life!"

Fugaku glared at Itachi, but he didn't see Itachi.

He saw a blond man with cerulean pools, fierce, determined features on his handsome face, and a Hokage hat upon his head…

He saw the image of Namikaze Minato…

He saw the Fourth Hokage of the village of Konohagakure…

XXX

Shimura Danzo grinned at his plan, hiding some of his Ne forces in with the ANBU that were taking on the Uchiha forces. He was hiding in the depths of the Hokage tower, knowing full well that it would be very unlikely for anyone to go down here, especially with what was going on and with the barrier around the place, which while it was weak, it was strong enough to last for a bit and keep most skilled shinobi out of the conflict. He looked at his arm, made of the cells of the Shodai Hokage, Senju Hashirama, one of the greatest shinobi in the history of the Ninja World, and the many crimson Sharingan that stared at him.

_This will be enough Sharingan for now… _Danzo thought gleefully to himself as he put his Sealing Arm Braces onto the arm, not wanting to waste chakra and wanting to keep the Sharingan and the cells of Senju Hashirama in check. He was surpised when suddenly someone stormed through the wall that was behind him, making an appearance. _Who got down this far in the tower…? No one even comes down here anymore! _

Danzo rose from his kneeling position, making sure his braces were secure with the screws in place. He used his free hand to grip his bandages, moving them to reveal a Sharingan glowing from the darkness of the prison of bandages as he began to turn, moving his stick that he walked with. He noticed his opponent made Shadow Clones in the darkness, five of them from what he could tell with his eyes. He looked calmly at the darkness that held his mystery opponent.

"Let's see if you can keep an old man entertained, eh?" Danzo said to the darkness, flipping through hand signs, eager for a battle.

XXX

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked over from his tower window as he bit his thumb and went through the hand signs for the jutsu. He put his hand on the ground of his office, making a monkey appear out of nowhere, Monkey King Enma.

The monkey looked at his summoner, "What's up, Hiruzen?"

"The Uchiha are trying to do coup against Konohagakure, a coup lead by Uchiha Fugaku, their clan head. Though not every Uchiha siding with the man, which I'm thankful for, but now I have to deal with all these Uchiha trying to kill me and take leadership and control of the village. At least I put up a barrier, but it won't hold forever. It will probably last at least five minutes."

Enma looked at Hiruzen, quirking an eyebrow, "Think you can deal with all those Uchiha in less than five minutes, old man?"

The Hokage chuckled at Enma, "I think I still have some youth left in me." Then, Hiruzen got a fierce look on his face, the same face he had on the day of the Kyuubi invasion. Enma noticed this with a smile. "Besides, I think I can deal with some Uchiha…" He extended his hand to Enma, who knew what the old man wanted. "Enma, staff, now!"

"Right!" Enma twirled in the air before becoming a pole of sorts, black with a monkey eye in the middle of the pole, showing everyone he was a transformed summon. Enma smirked and Sarutobi could tell from what he said next. "Let's get to this, Sarutobi…"

Sarutobi chuckled before adopting his confident, fierce God of Shinobi expression once again. "Yes, let's do that, Enma!"

And with that, Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage, charged through the glass of his window, rain pouring upon his battle armor, a fierce look in his eyes, and a killing intent surrounding his being, telling all near him to stay away.

After all, the God of Shinobi was about to go ape-shit on whoever passed him by.

He was about to go on a motherfucking rampage and anyone who would go near the old, skilled ninja would wish they were dead…

XXX

Uchiha Fugaku went straight at Itachi, going through a series of hand signs before stopping with a smirk. _Fire Release: Great Dragon Flame Technique! _A giant dragon head went toward Itachi, only for the Uchiha to make a single hand sign and disperse into many crows that dodged the flame that hit the barrier with a flash. Fugaku guarded his eyes, only peeking to see a group of crows coming at him, right in front of him. A sword of darkness was hidden in the crows, lunging out at the surprised Uchiha, who was pierced by the sword near his shoulder. The crows began to show the image of his eldest son, Uchiha Itachi, looking down at him with the Mangekyo Sharingan that he had gained.

"You almost had me there, Fugaku…" Itachi spoke, showing how much he hated his father at this moment. His left eye beginning to spin before he closed it along with his right eye as his sword was still embedded in his father's shoulder. "I don't think that Hokage-sama would like it very much to kill you right here, right now, so…" Itachi opened his eyes to fiercely glare at Fugaku, about to activate his jutsu. "I'll just trap you in a genjutsu that will keep a hold of you for a while…," Itachi gripped the blade tighter, "…until your execution, Fugaku…"

Fugaku laughed manically at his son, looking wickedly at Itachi. "You think a mere genjutsu will hold someone of my caliber, Itachi… You forget who taught you almost all you know!"

"I haven't forgotten, Uchiha Fugaku." Itachi said, his eyes growing fiercer as he looked straight into the wicked eyes of his fallen father. "After all," _Tsukuyomi! _Itachi looked to see his father shake for a moment and, then, fall after Itachi pulled out his blade and sheathed it. He continued to look at his father. "You were the one who taught me almost everything I know, Tou-san…"

He picked up the body as two Uchiha members appeared on the rooftop. They both glared at Itachi with blazing Sharingan eyes. Itachi shook for a moment, gripping at his eye and face, feeling the toll of using his newly-acquired eyes too much. He already used Amaterasu yesterday and had used Tsukuyomi just now. He would have to not use these eyes that much.

_These ocular jutsu take too much chakra and leave me with an ache after I use them… _Itachi thought, beginning to feel that he could get himself together. His eyes morphed back to his Sharingan as he stared at the two Uchiha members that appeared before him. _I'll have to take these guys out quick… I think I have enough chakra to preform Amaterasu, but then, I'll have to heal and I don't think I can deal with anymore Uchiha coming up here if I do that. I guess I'll just have to catch them by surprise and take them out as fast as I can without relying on my Mangekyo Sharingan… Plus, I never really like using it anyway…_

One of the Uchiha stepped forward, still glaring at Itachi. "Hey, Itachi, just what are you doing with Fugaku-san? He's your father!"

Itachi put Fugaku down on the ground and looked at the Uchiha with a cold glare, making that Uchiha shiver in fear. "I will not call someone who tries to rage and ravage the place I call home a father! I will not call someone who relies on his rage and his thirst for power and battle my father!"

The other Uchiha glared even fiercer at Itachi, "You're going to die right here, right now, you bastard!" And with that, that Uchiha member charged with amazing speed that rivaled Itachi, his eyes blazing like a crimson flame that was trying to engulf Itachi whole. The Uchiha quickly pulled out a dozen shuriken and kunai and threw them in the direction of his opponent. Itachi began to rush forward, dodging the shinobi tools one by one, until he was in front of the smirking Uchiha that wrapped Itachi in wire.

Itachi showed little surprise at the wire or the Uchiha that backed away with a wicked grin, having formed hand signs, and was gripping the wire. _Fire Release: Dragon Flame Technique! _A line of fire began to go on the wire and started to burn Itachi as the other Uchiha wielded a sword and rushed to slice Itachi. As he sliced the Uchiha prodigy, he found that he had sliced burning crows as he felt a katana pierce his stomach and looked down to see a calm Uchiha Itachi staring up at him.

_Bastard… He used his crows to enable him to sneak away at the last moment… _The Uchiha thought, seeing the slight burns at the attire that Itachi wore, as he closed his eyes to eternal darkness and fell down to the ground. Itachi pulled out his blade and sheathed it once again as afterward; he stared at the last remaining Uchiha on the roof, other than himself.

The Uchiha shook, glaring at Itachi, not knowing if he was going to beat this prodigy of his very clan. He couldn't take this feeling of total helplessness and fear. He couldn't handle the calm, lifeless expression on Uchiha Itachi's face. It was almost like the face of the Shinigami, of a God of Death.

"Behind you…"

The Uchiha gasped in fear, shaking, as he turned his head slowly and saw the eyes of the bringer of his death, and felt the sharp piercing action of Death's katana. That day…, Death had the eyes of the Uchiha, the Sharingan…

The Uchiha fell forward after looking into the crimson orbs, blood that was the same color as those eyes spewing, falling out of his shell of a body, his frame. He knew he was dying as he just closed his eyes like his partner. The last thing he remembered seeing was the face of Uchiha Itachi, staring at him, with a tear streaming down one of his coal black eyes.

XXX

_Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere! _

Danzo let loose from his mouth some small spheres of wind that his mysterious hidden opponent let his Shadow Clones take damage from as Danzo glared at how well his opponent could use the clones, flinging them into all directions to absorb the blows of his jutsu, allowing a smoke cloud to surround the area. Danzo cursed at his situation, not being able to see where he was or his opponent. He made hand signs and breathed in some air, preparing to blow the smoke away with wind chakra, only to feel a fierce _Wind Release: Great Breakthrough _on his back. He could barely see a blade sticking out in his direction as he began to loosen some of the screws on his brace, being extremely quick about it in his old age, allowing the brace to fall with a huge clack.

_Whoever this person is…, _Danzo said, feeling that he was about to be pierced by the blade, activated _Izanagi_, allowing him to get out of the smoke and seem like he got struck by the sword. _They are definitely not one to underestimate… _He looked to see the eye close to the Hashirama-like face near his shoulder begin to slowly close, never to be used again. He cursed at this. _Damn, I can't believe I already have to use Izanagi against someone! _

"So, that's the Izanagi, eh?"

Danzo grew shocked at this little voice, having heard it before, as the source went through the smoke, revealing his black pants and black shirt that wore a crimson spiral on it proudly. A Konohagakure headband was displayed proudly on his forehead; the fabric matching the color of his other attire. His wild, untamed hair of bright yellow color and fierce yet playful eyes of oceans reminded Danzo angrily of the boy's father while the boy's face reminded the old shinobi of his mother. Danzo was most certainly shocked of his opponent, but he wondered about this boy. Why was he here, about to face a shinobi known as a war hawk?

He had to give the boy credit for his execution of his plan and to make the shinobi bring out the Izanagi, one of the elder's hidden trump cards.

"So, you want to face me, eh," Shimura Danzo said, looking calmly at the boy in front of him, that wore a serious face that he almost mistook for the face of a veteran shinobi warrior that saw his world taken apart (Little did he know that he was right), "Uzumaki Naruto?"


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Those rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

The Savior That Can't Be Saved

Chapter 10:

The Better Future: The Ending of Madness

Uchiha Itachi stood hidden in the shadows outside the Hokage Tower, breathing a little heavily, carrying his passed-out, injured father, Uchiha Fugaku, on one of his barely stable shoulders. He cursed a little at how his clan was going against him, the fatigue setting in on his body after encountering a few Uchiha soldiers that wanted Konohagakure and all the people that they thought were all against them under their control. He looked around with his coal black eyes, feeling little pings of pain every so often from this new "gift" that he was given by his deceased friend.

_Well, Shisui-kun..._, Itachi bitterly chuckled at the pain, his thoughts, his situation, pretty much everything that had just happened in this brief amount of time, _even though this was your parting gift to me..._ At that very moment, Itachi saw an Uchiha appear near him, sighting him from the shadows, making Itachi smile in the same bitter attitude that his thoughts sent out to his body, _I still feel like it's a never-ending curse..._

The Uchiha charged with swift precision, his Sharingan eyes blazing into a wheel of roaring, avenging fire, shuriken and kunai in both of his smooth hands as he threw them accurately at Itachi's location. Itachi was about to step into action when the sound of an approaching shinobi caught his ears and before he could even think of moving forward and dropping Fugaku, the approaching shinobi appeared in front of Itachi, using a black pole to deflect the projectiles, sending them to the ground, making the other Uchiha curse. The shinobi smirked and did a few hand signs before breathing a bunch of air into his mouth quickly and sending it out in a burst of fierce, orange-red flames that contacted the Uchiha, making him curse as he began to burn into ash.

The shinobi looked at Itachi with a wrinkled smile and chuckled, "Looks like you need more help than I thought, Itachi-kun."

Itachi smiled at the legend and had a little chuckle, "Indeed I do, Hokage-sama."

XXX

Shimura Danzo looked down at his arm that was armed with many crimson red Sharingan eyes, seeing that there was still five eyes on the front of his arm and two on the back that were usable and open. He glared at the young boy that made him use one of his preciously acquired eyes for this technique, but he still had his own arsenal of jutsu and the genes of the famed Senju Hashirama on his side. He smirked at the situation.

_I can easily take this brat and gain control of the Kyuubi, of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox that will allow me to become strong enough to become Hokage and lead Konohagakure to greatness! _

Naruto sneered at Danzo's smirk, the many Sharingan that ran across one of his arms, and the face of the Shodaime near and practically on his shoulder. _I will never let you control Kurama, you sick, twisted bastard!_

With that, Danzo began to go and pull out a blade as he breathed in air and shrouded the blade with Wind Release chakra. Naruto almost admired the task of this, knowing that Danzo is a master of Wind Release jutsu, but shook his head and charged forward, making a series of hand signs, feeling wind chakra surround his body. Danzo approached Naruto and was about to slice him when Naruto made a single hand seal and the wind chakra rushed off his body like ants fleeing from their collapsing ant hill, their home. The chakra seeked Danzo, surrounding him in a fury of wind blades, making Danzo curse, quickly go into seals, and one of his Sharingan went into action, closing as he appeared in front of the young blond. The old man felt the eyelids close underneath his arm, glaring at the calm, smiling Naruto before him.

"Looks like I'll just have to make all your Sharingan close, eh, Danzo." Naruto said, even though it could have been in the form of a question as he whispered something to something behind him, "Find Itachi or Ojii-san and tell them to come here as soon as they can." Naruto hear a soft "Alright" before focusing fully on Danzo once again.

"Let's see if you can do that, brat," Danzo sneered out of his rough mouth as he held his blade that was once again shrouded in wind chakra, pointing it at the Konohagakure genin, "or is everything out of your mouth just a hopeless dream?"

XXX

"Alright, all I need to do is get inside here and..." The unknown Uchiha froze from trying to get inside the Hokage Tower and looked behind him to see an intimidating man with a mask on revealing only a single glimmering Sharingan eye, his long black hair of shadows swaying in the wind of nighttime. "Who the hell are you?!"

"Just nobody," said the man as he killed the other man with a kunai to the chest, the Uchiha coughing crimson blood at what happened to him, shaking at the sound of this man's dark voice and his cold expression that lightly shined through his lone visible eye as he repeated, "just nobody."

XXX

Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed at the corpses of Uchiha that he was starting to tend to as Itachi had Fugaku bound and gagged to where he couldn't escape or run so he could help the elderly Hokage with burying the dead shinobi. The man wore a frown at all the forces that had to die. I mean, Konoha still had many wonderful, powerful shinobi forces at its disposal, but losing this many shinobi, let alone almost all of a once famous clan, would take a toil on any village, even one as prosperous as Konohagakure. Hiruzen had also put down the barrier, knowing that everything was taken care of except Fugaku's execution. As the Sarutobi was almost finished with most of the corpses of Uchiha, a Naruto clone got his attention.

"What's wrong, Naruto-kun?" the Kage asked the clone, knowing that something must be up.

"Boss needs help down in the tower. He is facing Danzo, who is covered in Sharingan and has that old man Hashirama's genes on him too."

This got Itachi's attention quick, "He must want the Kyuubi and he knows how to use that forbidden Uchiha technique, Izanagi."

"Explain it to me as we go to Naruto, Itachi-kun." Sarutobi said with a slight humorous smile. "Kinda sad when one of the Kages doesn't even know one of the techniques of one of his village's famed clans."

Itachi chuckled at this as he picked up his unconscious father, "Don't worry, Hokage-sama." Itachi smiled for a slight moment. "It's not something the clan really talks about..."

This slightly worried Hiruzen, but he went forward to the tower. "Let's just get to Naruto-kun on time."

And with that, they rushed into the tower, not liking the sound of the situation.

XXX

Naruto dashed forward with a wind blade, slicing Danzo's arm of eyes off his body, only to see Danzo rushing at him, hand forward, trying to grasp Naruto's neck. Naruto let out a "shit" as he didn't have enough time to dodge the grip of Danzo's hand as the boy got loose when he stabbed the man with a kunai that was hidden in his sleeve. Danzo moved backward as he smirked lightly at what he was able to accomplish when he gripped Naruto. After all, the damned brat made him use all the eyes on the back on his arm! He looked to see that one on the front had closed, leaving him with four to use.

The blade he wield made a swinging motion to the blond, making the wind rush in toward him, making the boy dodge the attack, only for the old war hawk to make a hand sign, freezing the young shinobi as strange markings appeared on his body, making him stuck in place. While he was immobile, the man approached with his steel blade still in hand and he admired the twisted, angered expression on the boy. He smirked as he guided the blade to the thin neck of the Uzumaki.

"Your father was a complete fool for thinking that you would be capable of anything in your life." Danzo said as he looked sadly at the even more angry boy. "You can't even hope to control that gift that was given to you." Naruto bit back the retort that was forming in his head that he and Kurama were actually pals, not wanting to anger this man anymore than he already had. "I still admire your skills as a shinobi to lead me this far, even though I guess I'm getting older and I haven't even tested the effects of the Izanagi as I should have... But you were a great test subject while you lasted. Now, I can finally take what should be mine!"

And with that, Danzo sliced off one of Naruto's arms, hearing his tortured screams with a devilish smirk having been born onto his face as he edged his face into Naruto's. "Have anything to say to me now, demon brat?"

Naruto smirked as he used the rest of his strength to bypass the seals and grip Danzo, surprising him with how much strength this boy had. "Rasengan..." Danzo's eyes widened when he heard the sound of swirling chakra and felt the incoming attack as he had to resort to the Hashirama's Wood Release to get out of the way, making Danzo breath heavily until he saw the Naruto that he had the seal on was a clone and the Rasengan wielding Naruto moved through the clone and rushed to Danzo, surprising him at how well he could control the jutsu of his father, leading him to have no time to recover, activating Izanagi right before Naruto hit him with the jutsu.

Danzo appeared behind Naruto, breathing heavily, just as Naruto looked behind himself and revealed his frog-like eyes to Danzo, astonishing the man.

"HOW?!" Danzo roared with almost all of his breath at the boy, pointing at the genin's frog-like eyes. "How do you know Sennin Mode!? Did that Jiraiya teach you in secret?!"

Naruto glared at the weakened old man, reminding him of how weak he was feeling at the moment. That was why he went into Sennin Mode as quickly as he could, to regain some strength for the short amount of time he was able to stand in this mode. "I don't have to answer some rotten old fool like you that has to rely on the strength of ones other than himself." He looked down at the remaining eyes on the old man's arm. "You rely on Izanagi and those Sharingan too much." And with that, Naruto rushed forward at light speed with Danzo barely able to dodge, but Danzo felt an impact even though the boy missed him clearly.

Naruto darkly glared at the fallen man and rushed forward with an Odama Rasengan with a formed clone that he made quick as lightening. Plunging the sphere into Danzo's fallen body, he felt the man's presence behind him. Naruto dashed to the side, dodging the wind blade that Danzo made since his real blade was finally broken. Naruto quickly went through hand signs that he had seen from his teacher, Jiraiya, and set both of his hands down.

_Summoning: Toad Mouth Bind!_

Naruto breathed heavily after the technique, feeling the wear on his chakra, slipping out of Sennin Mode earlier then expected. Danzo felt the sinking and knew this must be another of Jiraiya's jutsu as he knew he had to use Izanagi at the right moment to get out of here and not get caught by this jutsu.

Naruto grinned at Danzo's predicament.

"You're in the belly of the beast now, old man!"

Danzo felt himself almost fully sunk and the jutsu starting to wane as he activated Izanagi and Naruto's jutsu fell apart, surprising Naruto even.

_Damn it, _Naruto cursed as he saw the approaching Danzo, _I thought I would have more time on that jutsu! Curse this younger body of mine! I'll have to get even more used to it before trying more serious stuff!_

"Time to end this, demon brat!"

"I believe you are right, you old bastard!" Naruto flashed through hand signs before blowing wind into his mouth and launching Danzo's technique from earlier right back at him, slicing through the old man right as Danzo vanished from his sight. "God damn that fucking Izanagi!"

Danzo spoke softly and darkly behind Naruto, his second to last Sharingan closing, "Like I said, it's time to end this, Kyuubi brat!" A kunai of wind chakra was about to strike Naruto when Danzo suddenly stopped when he felt the blow of a pole to his back, charging him off of Naruto. He quickly got up, breathing heavily as a tingle invaded his body. He felt the Hashirama DNA betray him, forcing him to lose his other Sharingan and the genes of the Shodaime Hokage, which became a tree in the middle of the basement of the tower. He glared up at the two that appeared before him before spitting out their names in remorse. "Itachi, Hiruzen..."

Danzo rose up as Hiruzen frowned at his former friend. "Why did it have to come to this, Danzo...?"

Danzo moved his clothes, showing the marks, the seals on his chest as he glared at the three before him. "You, out of everyone in the Shinobi World, should know why, Hiruzen! It was all for the betterment of the village! Now, I'll have to take Konohagakure along with me! After all, you no longer have the barrier up, do you, dear Hiruzen!?" The Third's eyes widened as the seals were about to expand and Itachi went in front of the Kage.

"Itachi, what-?!" Itachi stopped the old man and allowed his eye to form into his Mangekyo form and it spun, allowing the black flames of Amaterasu to burn Danzo before the seal could take them with the dying old man. Itachi went to the ground right after the technique, breathing heavily as he almost collapsed, feeling his eye grow weaker in its sight.

"Sorry, Hokage-sama," Itachi said to the elder, "but if I didn't do that, we wouldn't be standing here at all right now."

Hiruzen just patted Itachi's shoulder, and said, "It's alright, Itachi-kun." He, then, looked seriously at Naruto. "Naruto, you can come to me and explain everything that went down. Itachi, you can come, too. Come morning," The Sandaime paused, looking at the bound, passed-out Fugaku, knowing of what to come, "this will all be over."

The three walked on to the office of Konohagakure's leader, wanting to rest from the hell that they had faced.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Those rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

The Savior That Can't Be Saved

Chapter 11:

Execution: The Future before Us, the Truth Revealed!

"So, Naruto," Sarutobi Hiruzen said with Uchiha Itachi beside him, both staring at the blond jinchuriki before them, his hands on his desk while he stared seriously at the young shinobi, "tell me about what happened down there when you appeared before Danzo."

Uzumaki Naruto knew that he needed to finally let go of his secrets as Itachi knows about the Izanagi and he was bound to have seen the many closed Sharingan eyes that covered the arm of Danzo. He sighed and looked at Hiruzen seriously. "Before I can tell you that, Hokage-sama…" When Naruto said this, the Sandaime Hokage's eyes widened slightly and, then, focused completely on the son of the Yondaime Hokage. "…I have to tell you something that you probably won't believe at all."

The old leader laughed at what Naruto said and had a slight smile on his face, almost forgetting the seriousness that emanated from the Uzumaki. "I've seen so many things by now, Naruto-kun… I'm pretty sure I can handle whatever you're saying so throw it at me."

Naruto smiled at the Third and, then, said something that almost made the "God of Shinobi" choke on his pipe. That something was:

"I'm from the future…"

XXX

"So, what happened with the coup that the Uchiha attempted," a masked man asked, his mask showing what looked like the design of black flames coming out of the open eye hole, sitting on a bunch of rocks in a forest near Konohagakure.

A man that was half white and half black stood out of the ground with what looked like part of a plant surrounding his head almost like it was a Venus fly trap, waiting to tear his skull to shreds. "It seems that the coup was a massive failure with the Sandaime and Uchiha Itachi taking care of Fugaku and his forces, but it seems that there was one more interesting fight going on that I was more astounded by."

This definitely grew the masked man's attention. "What fight was this?" He moved toward the man, his long, spikey, dark black hair swaying when he rose from the rocks.

"**A fight between Shimura Danzo and Uzumaki Naruto**," the plant-like man said, or at least, the black half said it.

"Was Danzo attempting to gain control of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox already, Zetsu," the masked man asked, curious and thinking about what Danzo was doing during the coup.

"He seemed to have many Sharingan on his arm and was using some kind of technique to make reality into an illusion," Zetsu replied. "He had cells from Senju Hashirama on his arm as well."

_So, he was planning to take control of the Kyuubi…_, the masked man thought as he stared at Zetsu, a crimson red Sharingan showing from the hole in the mask. "Did he capture the Kyuubi jinchuriki then?"

"No," Zetsu merely said, about to go on before the masked man began to talk some more.

"Sarutobi Hiruzen or Itachi must have interfered and ended Danzo's life then." The masked man figured Danzo would be old and not have trained much in years, leading to him losing to one or the other.

"Actually, that jinchuriki seemed to have that Danzo in a corner for a while," Zetsu replied, making the masked man's eyes widen.

"What?!" the masked man raged as he shook the plant man. "How did that little jinchuriki handle Danzo?! How?!"

"**He seemed to have Sennin Mode and used pretty good strategies with his Shadow Clone Technique.**" Zetsu forced out quickly as the masked man let go of him, turned backward, and went away for a moment with a scowl before stopping and looking back at his partner.

"Did you have any knowledge of his abilities beforehand," the masked man asked, a glare coming from his single showing eye. He kept his composure, but inside, in his mind, he was cursing. _That damned Jiraiya must have gotten a hold of him somehow when my watchful eye was turned! That can be the only reason that the brat has control over Sennin Mode! _

"We didn't even know that he had graduated the Ninja Academy already!" Zetsu screamed out to his leader, making him a little uneasy.

"That we didn't…" the masked man silently said, staring at Zetsu, moving toward him, and grabbing him by the throat, "But we should have known because you are supposed to keep up to date information on the jinchuriki!"

"I've been trying my best," Zetsu squealed out before the masked man threw the rouge ninja on the ground very hard and walked away with a scowl on his face.

"Then try harder than your best," the masked man hissed out from his mask as he left the room, leaving Zetsu there in complete silence.

XXX

Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed as he rubbed his temples and forehead before looking back at the young Uzumaki that was before him. "That is surely a lot to take in, Naruto, but do you think for a moment that I can believe everything that you have said?"

"Not everything is entirely believable, but some of the things that did happen have already been changed by us. The Uchiha Massacre didn't happen, because we took the ones that were planning an uprising out. The massacre would have caused Itachi to become a rouge shinobi and join the Akatsuki as a spy, an organization that Orochimaru is currently in. Also, since we took care of the situation ourselves, we didn't get the masked man involved. We can deal with the situation easier now than what happened back in my timeline."

"Though from what you've said yourself, it seems that you have done some changing as well, graduating early, taking care of Danzo, and forcing the Uchiha to enforce their coup earlier than planned." The Sandaime said looking at Naruto. "I understand that Danzo could have potentially have become a threat from what he was planning and the stories you have told me from your time of seeing him." The Sarutobi had an almost faint glint of regret and sadness in his eyes. "It still makes me feel like I did something wrong, with Danzo…, with Orochimaru…, and even the Kyuubi attack…"

Itachi calmed the old Hokage down, "Don't blame yourself for everything that has happened, Hokage-sama. Just use these experiences and Naruto-kun's knowledge of the future to ensure that nothing like what was already happened happens. That's the only way we can make Naruto's decision to go back in time worthwhile."

This definitely calmed the leader down. "Thank you, Itachi-kun." He looked back at Naruto. "Speaking of Naruto's decision, how exactly did you go back in time again, Naruto-kun? Did you learn some kind of time traveling jutsu or something that even I, God of Shinobi, has yet to learn of or even comprehend?"

Naruto shook his head, "Not exactly, old man. What apparently happened was that before I died, somehow my unknown kekkai genkai kicked in, taking some of my life span to fuel the jutsu, along with part of my chakra, to allow me to go back in time to a set period I imagined whenever I would wake from the bloodline limit's effect."

Sarutobi was thinking about what Naruto said and, then, asked, "Then, what time did you so happen to pick?"

"For some reason, when I started to feel like I was dying, I chose the moment you gave me Ichiraku ramen and allowed me to be registered in the Ninja Academy. It might be because that's when I was finally getting to the first step of heading toward my main dream, becoming Hokage. At least, that was my original main dream until Ero-sennin died and I fought Pain… That's when I decided I wanted to bring the world of shinobi peace, to show that I could do it, make ero-sennin's and tou-san's belief in me turn into a reality. I really just wanted them to see that their trust could allow me to accomplish the goal they originally set out to do."

"I see," Hiruzen merely said, noting the mature look in Naruto's eyes, seeing the struggles and ambitions that the boy held, and smiled, "then we'll both help you accomplish your goal, Naruto-kun." The Sandaime looked at Itachi. "Right, Itachi-kun?"

Itachi nodded with a light smile, "Yes, Hokage-sama, I can help with this."

Naruto smiled at the two, "Thanks a lot, you two…"

The old man looked out toward the sky, noticing the glow of the crescent moon that was resting in the sky. "You should get home, Naruto-kun. It's starting to get late."

"Alright," Naruto said, getting up and as he did, he noticed the still unconscious Fugaku, "what about Fugaku?"

"We'll deal with him until he is executed tomorrow," Sarutobi said with a reassuring smile. "You don't have to worry about him getting out of our hands anyway. Just worry about yourself, go home, and get ready to rest and for tomorrow." Hiruzen let out a heavy sigh. "After all, tomorrow's going to be a long day."

"Right," Naruto said, heading for the door and opening it, only to look back at the two for a moment to say, "See ya, ojii-san, Itachi-san."

"See ya, Naruto-kun," the two said before Naruto shut the door, racing home, awaiting what tomorrow held.

XXX

Uzumaki Naruto awoke with a start, hearing a knocking at his door. He simply grabbed a pair of orange shorts with white stripes down the sides and a black t-shirt with a crimson Uzumaki spiral in the middle that he found on his dresser that looked clean and quickly put them on after stripping off his pajamas. He rushed to the door right as the person beyond the door was knocking again and opened it to see his Ninja Academy teacher Umino Iruka.

"Ah, so you are up, Naruto…," Iruka said with a light smile as he looked at the just-awakened boy. "Well, since there was the whole coup yesterday and the execution of Uchiha Fugaku today at 9:00 a.m., I decided that we'll be running the Academy later today instead of normal time. So, just come to the Academy for your sensei and team at noon today, alright?"

Naruto looked at the clock in his apartment, noting that it said 8:45 a.m. Naruto sighed and grumbled, "Yeah…, thanks for waking me up, Iruka-sensei…"

Iruka grew a tick mark, "Don't you speak to me like that when I'm being kind enough to allow you more time for yourself and not make you come to class, you little brat!"

Naruto just chuckled and smiled at Iruka and Iruka could help but have a melancholy yet proud smile on his face as well. Iruka put his hand on Naruto's head of yellow spikes and ruffled them with the movement of his hand. He, then, stopped, pulled his hand back, turned around, and started to move as the sensei just spoke, "I'm so proud of you, Naruto… I've watched you grow up and become a shinobi." The Umino now had tears coming to his eyes that he didn't want the boy behind him to see. Once he wiped the tears away from his face, he turned his head back to Naruto with a heartfelt smile. "Now, show the rest of the world that you have grown and just what you're capable of, otouto…"

Naruto's smile widened at the term, reminding him of when Iruka said that to him in his time line. That was when Naruto had just figured out about the war that the masked man had declared and exactly why he was hiding, training to learn how to control Kurama and his malevolent chakra. He almost too had tears coming down his face, but they stayed locked inside the socket of his eyes. "You know that I'll do that, onii-san…"

Iruka had a shocked expression on his face for a moment before showing off another smile to Naruto and said his goodbye as he departed, just thinking. _I know, Naruto…, I know… _

Naruto watched the back of one of his first precious people as he left, smiling until he himself left his apartment, knowing it was close to the execution of Fugaku. With that, the Uzumaki rushed to the center of Konohagakure, the place where Uchiha Fugaku would have his last breath.

XXX

Uchiha Mikoto let out a heavy sigh from her lips, feeling the stress of the situation with her clan and the village. Now, that her husband, which she really didn't care nearly as much for anymore, was going to be executed, she would have to take the mantle of clan head or give it to Itachi, her eldest son. The only thing was while Itachi was intelligent and talented; he still was young and had a lot of life ahead of him. She didn't want to thrust this kind of responsibility upon her son like this, even if she had a feeling that he would make a good clan head.

No, she had to do this for herself. She had to show that she was strong, could lead the clan to greatness with her own hands and feet, with her own talent.

_And that is exactly what I am going to do_, Mikoto thought to herself with a serious face on, ready to meet with the rest of the Uchiha Clan that was left and show that she was capable of leading her broken clan to a better future.

XXX

The crowd whispered among themselves as the execution of one Uchiha Fugaku was about to begin. Uzumaki Naruto was right there, looking at the platform that held a restraint to hold a person's head and arms to restrict movement. Sarutobi Hiruzen came onto the platform with his teammates/advisors behind him and behind them was two ANBU black ops, one that was obviously Itachi and other ANBU Naruto noticed had Yamato's mask as they both carried the still incapacitated Uchiha Fugaku.

_So, that ANBU member must be Yamato-taicho…_, Naruto thought, noticing the cat-like mask right off the bat.

The Sandaime Hokage approached the stand and coughed into a tight fist before speaking. "As we all know by now, a fraction of the Uchiha Clan that resides in our village of Konohagakure planned and tried to stage a coup or uprising to take control of the village. This was mainly because of how oppressed they feel after being blamed by some of the members in our village for the dreaded attack by the Kyuubi six years ago…" Hiruzen paused for a moment before beginning to speak some more. "But that is behind us and we have to move on, just like the uprising is behind us. The thing that we'll signal the end of this uprising and the beginning of better days for both Konohagakure and the Uchiha Clan is the execution of the ring leader of the attempted coup…" Hiruzen pointed at the unconscious former Uchiha head that was to his side. "… Uchiha Fugaku!"

The old man took a moment to allow the crowd to settle after yelling in their approval before beginning to speak once again. "The lesson that can be taken from what happened to Fugaku and his clan is that we can't judge people for the actions of someone we don't know, even if we have ideas of who it could possibly be. The people of Konohagakure blaming and shunning the Uchiha for one attack that was most likely not done by someone in the village is going to stop this moment forward!" The Sarutobi grew one of his most serious faces that he had ever shown as he spoke with commanding authority. "We are going to start by opening up to the Uchiha and give them more opportunity in the village than just the Police Force, which we'll now be open to any shinobi that wants to be a part of it!"

Some of the crowd were open and liked the changes that their leader brought up, cheering while others were still skeptical about the changes, but knew their leader would do nothing to risk their safety.

"Right now, the remaining members of the Uchiha Clan are picking a candidate for the head of their clan at their meeting and they will send it to me. I, myself, will talk to and see if I approve the candidate and, along with the Uchiha Clan members, I will help select a candidate if the case is the previous one is not approved." Hiruzen, then, stopped as the people cheered once again until they settle down again and we're calm and listening to him. Once they were calm, the elderly Kage looked at the ANBU and nodded.

Yamato and Itachi nodded back as Itachi made a hand sign and applied his hand on his father, making the man awake. Fugaku rose up his head, cursing as he adjusted his eyes and noticed that he saw a crowd of random people of Konoha, whispering to each other as they looked at him. He scowled and found that he couldn't move his hands, that he was bound, which only meant that he was about to be executed for the attempted coup. The Uchiha saw the ANBU beside him and scowled at one of them, knowing that that one specifically was his son, Uchiha Itachi.

"Now, we'll start and end the execution of one Uchiha Fugaku!" Sarutobi Hiruzen said to the crowd as the crowd cheered, making Fugaku angry, especially since he spotted the Kyuubi brat, Uzumaki Naruto, in the crowd.

The two stared at each other, one with a blank, child-like expression and the other had a raging scowl on their face, focusing their hatred, their pure rage on the other. Fugaku heard Hiruzen step back and one of the ANBU slowly yet skillfully pull out a blade from their sheath as he knew his end had come.

_No, I can't accept this! _Fugaku yelled out in his head, his crimson red Sharingan becoming active, staring straight at the blond jinchuriki of the Nine Tailed Demon Fox.

Itachi noticed this and quickly pulled out a kunai with his free hand. He moved the kunai at a lightning fast pace, stabbing both eyes a few times, making Fugaku scream and thrash in agony.

"Fuck! Fuck you, Konohagakure!" Fugaku screamed as he was about to just yell out curses at the people that he opposed, the Hokage, Uzumaki Naruto, and lastly, his own son, Uchiha Itachi.

As this was done, Itachi swung his blade upward and, then, swung it downward, clashing with the neck and wrists of his father, allowing the crimson life to spew onto the ground below the platform, where everyone stepped back so they didn't get blood on them. The red liquid kept running from the corpse of the former head of the Uchiha Clan, even when people didn't care to watch it flow.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Those rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

The Savior That Can't Be Saved

Chapter 12:

The Uchiha's Disorder: A New Leader, A New Future

Uchiha Mikoto stood outside her house that was inside the Uchiha compound, remembering the details and just of the meeting she went through earlier in the day. She knew that the Uchiha Clan elders were still debating on who would rule their clan after the failed coup and uprising against the village of Konohagakure, where the clan had resided for decades and a couple of centuries. After all, Fugaku, her husband, was a leader praised by much of the Uchiha's population for his clan laws and strict attitude, something that was positive in the eyes of the more traditional, typical clan members. She was too busy with the meeting to even think of going to the execution of her former husband, not that she would have gone if she could as she felt their marriage was already tearing apart after the birth of her younger son, Sasuke.

After all, very shortly afterward was the Kyuubi attack, a disastrous event that shook not only the village in general, but affected the fates of her family, her clan, and the family of her best friend, Uzumaki Kushina. The release of the Nine Tailed Demon Fox on the village definitely signified the death of the last Uzumaki, but another Uzumaki was born that day, her son Naruto, who obviously would share the burden of having to contain the biju in his body for the rest of his life. When Mikoto heard the news of the death of the person she held most dear, besides her children, and saw the body of the Red Hot Habanero, she broke down completely and, somehow; found herself looking inside a mirror when her eyes slowly and painfully morphed into a reminder of what happened on the day, the tenth of October.

Her normal, three-tomoe, crimson-red Sharingan eyes became twisted and changed until they morphed into her form of Mangekyo Sharingan, staring at her sharply and teasingly, to torture her into remembering her happy days with her friend and the feeling of never seeing her again bit into her soul. Her eyes now had halves of figures that looked like cherry blossoms pointed at each of the twelve points of the center of her newly developed eyes. The center of the twelve-pointed shuriken displayed a deeper, darker pupil that looked like an upside-down five-point star. The lines of darkness contrasted the crimson blood color that the whole eye seemed to swallow up, almost as if it was thinking that eating blood would give it blood that could make it live longer and easier.

The moment she saw those eyes, she vowed to never ever use them unless it was a life-or-death situation that affected her children. They just haunted her of how she got them and how she wished they would just fade away if she never used them. They held no use other than to remind her of why she was miserable, why she was so immersed with sadness; the eyes reminded her that she had no bright light or sunshine to rain down upon her face and make her feel alright. She felt she was too far gone, that she would never find a perfectly happy life.

But she would try, damn it!

She would have to try… …for Sasuke and Itachi…, for her sons…

Those two were her main…, no, her only reason to be living right now. Mikoto shook her head for a moment when she remember someone else she had a reason to live for, Uzumaki Naruto. She had to live to see the child of her dearest friend grow up, see his struggles and achievements, see his career as a shinobi, a ninja, unfold, and see how much he grows up, seeing if he becomes like his father, his mother, or has traces of both.

Besides if she didn't look, who would look at his achievements, his growth, and his life?

No one…

Well, besides the Third Hokage, her elder son, and his senseis, Umino Iruka, who had gotten attached to Naruto in the Academy after teaching him, seeing his own face on Naruto's, and Hatake Kakashi, his new sensei that was already watching over him since he is his deceased sensei's son. But the village… no, no one would look at Naruto in a light that would acknowledge his growth unless they fully saw him pull all the stops and become a full-fledged hero, and even then some would just ignore it, still thinking of the childish, happy-go-lucky brat that seemed to always have a crescent moon grin on his face.

She had seen Naruto sometimes recently though and she had seen what his face held when he gripped his forehead protector, strolling down the streets of Konohgakure with an expression of just pure happiness, not a fake smile like his usual wide, cracking grin. Then, Fugaku just had to take that happiness away, just because of his hidden grudge with not only the Kyuubi that Naruto held inside him, reminding the man of the day that sealed the fate of the Uchiha Clan, but with the one that sealed that very beast inside the little blond boy, Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage, the Fourth.

Fugaku could plainly tell Naruto was the spawn of Minato and Kushina. The face that Naruto wore that reminded him and Mikoto of the red haired Kushina and the towering blond mountain range of the Yellow Flash were clearly displayed out for everyone to see. It was amazing and terribly shocking that the majority of Konohagakure, which included practically all of the normal citizen population of the village, did see the resemblance of Naruto to their former leader and hero. Clearly, rage and emotions that were left from the Kyuubi attack still rang out and hang inside the minds of Konohagakure's inhabitants, blinding people from what they see the boy as. He is a scapegoat, someone to blame that attack for, someone to blame for why their lives are so miserable and dead, like the Uchiha Clan and their situation with the attack as well.

After all, it is clearly known by the majority of the residents of the village that the eyes that the members of the Uchiha Clan hold, the Sharingan, can control the Nine Tailed Demon Fox, shown in the history books when telling the tale of the epic brawl of Senju Hashirama, the First Hokage, and Uchiha Madara, the first and only really known Uchiha to have been seen controlling the beast. But somehow, someone decided to attack the village that day, the day that the Fourth's boy would be born, and end up having the Fourth die by sealing the demon inside his own son.

Though if this was not the work of the fabled Uchiha Madara, then who would have enough of as grudge against the clan and the village of Konoha to release the biju onto the village and seal the inevitable clash of the Uchiha and the village itself?

Mikoto sighed at what she was thinking about, rubbing her hand on her forehead, feeling a headache erupting inside her cranium. She turned in toward her home when she felt a presence near her, one that definitely held malice for her. She wondered who would have such hatred for her, hiding in the shadows for a moment when she would let her guard down, be defenseless, and easy to kill. Though, secretly, she knew who would probably be attempting to murder her and it hurt her a bit to have her own clan, in a way, go against her.

Almost clearly, there was bound to be an elder, an Uchiha, where she was feeling this roll of killing intent from, faint yet clear. She knew why this person had come, and she could tell it was probably one of the members of the council that didn't want her to become leader of the clan. The reasons why were their own. They could be because she was a woman, something some men in the clan despised. After all, Fugaku was clearly not the loving husband; anybody could have seen that and could tell the Uchiha would stubborn to the core. Another main reason is because she was different than the majority of the clan, clearing someone that would bring the Uchiha to a different path than Fugaku or even any of the other leaders of the clan like Madara. Her views were simply her own, wanting to make the Uchiha a clan that was proud, respected, and feared in a different way than now. She wanted them to be accepted as an asset to the village, not something that was feared and wanted to be rid of.

She, after all, got along really well with the citizens of Konohagakure, whether they were the shinobi forces, young children, or the civilians that held no shinobi training and got their money from stores and shops that sold their goods and services. She was almost the complete opposite of the ordinary, stereotypical Uchiha that was seen in the Police Force or even in ANBU Black Ops or just strolling down the streets. She didn't hold in air of arrogance and pride in the way almost all the Uchiha do; she held herself like a kind woman, a perfect figure of a mother.

She sighed once again when she felt that the attacker was about to pounce, grabbing the katana displayed on the inside of a wall she was beside, drawing it quicker than the attacker predicted. She turned swiftly with an elegant and deadly spin, clashing the blade she randomly grabbed with the attacker's well-used kunai that still seemed to be strong enough to block the katana. The hooded Uchiha gasped in shock at what she was capable of, having not been a shinobi in Konohagakure's forces since the birth of her son Itachi, but the gasp faded into obscurity as the attacker glared at her through the darkness of the night and his black hood with his shining, crimson-red Sharingan eyes displayed clearly with the emotion of rage and hatred.

Mikoto put more muscle into the sword, slicing through the worn kunai, not easily though, as the attacker quickly jumped backward with ease, rising from his position to stand in front of her. The figure was only a few inches taller than her as she noted the bangs of black hair that moved when the person jumped backward, dancing shortly with the wind before hiding from her in the safety of the hood. She, for the first time in a long while, glared at the figure before her, wanting to end this quickly and not risk being injured. She didn't want Itachi or Sasuke being worried for her, after all. She was the one that was supposed to worry about them and herself, not those two worrying about what happened to her because of some random typical Uchiha.

"So, you aren't as rusty as I thought, eh, bitch," the hooded Uchiha grunted out as he flung some shuriken out from his hands, letting the stars float on the air toward the women. She swung the sword she held, making the few throwing stars drop to the ground right in front of her. "Definitely not as weak as I thought you would be." His eyes narrowed at her. "Have you been training all those years in secret when we've thought you were not being a shinobi, just taking care of your kids?!" The tongue he held in his mouth slipped through his lips, hissing out his words in anger, barely holding back his deepest, harshest feelings.

She held her glare upon the man, telling from the deep voice that hit her ears from the hidden hood on his cloak. "It matters not what I do with my time. I haven't done anything that has hurt or damaged the clan so you have no reason at all to even think of attacking me like this."

The hidden man chuckled harshly before cackling wildly and uncontrollably at what the female Uchiha said to him. He pulled his eyebrows down hard, glaring fiercer than he had earlier, his frown deepening into something darker and enraged. "Oh, I have plenty of reasons why I should take your head right here, lady! And I have no reason whatsoever to tell you them so don't even think of asking me!"

She just stood there, wondering what the hooded man was going to try next or pull out of his sleeves. He clearly wanted her to be dead and gone. The man suddenly rushed toward her, drawing out kunai from each of his long, black sleeves. The shinobi swiftly shifted his movements, appearing right in front of Mikoto, pushing his kunai knives toward her, but she countered one of the kunai with her katana, distracting and surprising him enough that she moved her right foot off the ground and into the man's stomach, causing him to lose grip of both weapons.

The female shinobi moved backward almost like it was second nature to her, flashing through familiar hand signs, getting more of a grasp on her abilities, her hiding power. She quickly breathed in some air and, then, released the air out, causing the air to come out of her mouth as a ball of blazing fire, hitting the man right where he had fallen.

"ERAHHHHH!" the hooded Uchiha shrieked out into the air as his body became nothing but ashes and weakening flames. The metal plate of his Konohagakure headband had fallen from the fabric that was ashes now was shining, glistening that light and color of the flames that killed its wearer. There was a line through most of the village's symbol of the dead man's headband.

Mikoto breathed out heavily, feeling the impact of her lack of training all these years and that she had just killed a person. She didn't care that the person she killed was a rogue that was against the village; she didn't even really fully notice that. All she knew was that she had just killed someone…

…Until she noticed the familiar sound of a jutsu being performed, noticing the body changing into a pile of oaky ashes from a stump. She quickly turned toward the sound of heavy breathing, seeing the man look at her, part of his face charred with ash from the wicked flames he resided in for a mere second. His right hand grew black from the flames' destructive yet magical touch, yielding the limp useless as the man winced at the sensation the flesh gave his body, the pain of the rising fire.

His hood was no longer covering his face, allowing her to see his left side as what he would normally look like. The left side of his face looked royal-like, stuck up with his rising chin and calm yet fierce crimson red eyes that just kept staring, glaring into her eyes. A bang of typical black hair was beside his eye, almost as if it was trying to take away the man's sight; after all, she could see his right eye was closed, showing signs of the fire's path of destruction that showed little instances of crossing to the left side of his face on his nose and chin, overlapping over them and fitting together like puzzle pieces. His hair showed signs of the burning, part of it being completely burned, which left him with almost no hair on one side, showing like tuffs of where quite a bit of hair must have been, and almost complete hair on his other side, showing only minor burns here and there.

The cloak he wore was burned, leaving him in a typical green Chunin vest and black pants that showed that he once was a part of the Uchiha Police Force, the familiar shuriken symbol appearing near his shoulder on his clothing. His non-burnt hand was twitching, showing that he flung those shuriken from his right hand and his shuriken pouch was just ash now; the metals joining with the flame. He silently cursed his luck, biting his lip in fury at how she caught him off guard.

"Damn it," the man wheezed out of his throat, the flames getting caught in his throat and lungs. He was glaring at Mikoto once again. "Fugaku already told me that this would be easy, that you haven't really been training for a long while, since you gave birth to Itachi, always told me how easily we could take you if it had come to it!"

She just stared blankly at the man, hearing the approaching footsteps of a shinobi that felt like an ANBU level from the way they carried themselves. She sighed; it was most likely her son, Itachi. After all, she hadn't seen much of him today. Probably because what he had to do in front of the village today, kill his very own father. She kept her gaze on the wounded ninja that attempted to kill her and she spoke.

"Then, it is your fault for underestimating me." Mikoto said to the man. "I knew you weren't going all out so I had to get the upper hand and get you into the position that you are now as quickly as I could. It ended up working according to plan too."

The man gritted his teeth, holding back his barking, just glaring harshly at the women when an ANBU Black Ops member popped out of nowhere, making the man's eyes pop open wide like they were the gates of Hell and he was going inside them. The ANBU first looked at the man on the ground, seeing the burns on his abandoned cloak and the rest of his clothes and body, noting that they obviously came from the Uchiha trademark technique, the Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu. He, then, turned his eyes to Mikoto, guessing that she had burned him. For what reason, he didn't know, but he would find out.

And with his observations done, he spoke.

"So, what happened to you, Uchiha-san," the ANBU asked her as the voice definitely was Itachi's.

_So, I was right… _Mikoto thought quickly before bringing her attention to her son and the situation before her. "I was sitting out here, thinking, when I felt a presence of killing intent coming from the many trees here. A little after that, I felt the presence pounce toward me and I quickly pulled a katana that was on the other side of the wall here and blocked their attack. I turned to see this hooded man you see on the ground as he commented on how well I blocked his attack for not having been a shinobi for years, striking me with shuriken. I blocked those as he approached me with two kunai in hand and I rushed in, countering one kunai and moving quick enough to kick him in the stomach, making him lose grip of both of his knives.

"I, then, moved backward on instinct and start to form the hand signs for the jutsu and hit him with it on his right side. He somehow pulled off a replacement jutsu just in time to not get completely burned, but he still seems to be struggling and those burns could be fatal on him, looking at how deep and how many there are."

The ANBU nodded and, then, looked at the man. "Is that all true, Uchiha-san?"

The man chuckled harshly as he looked at the ANBU. "Yeah, it is… There's no reason for me not to tell the truth. You could easily read it off of my expression and the way I am saying these words. No point for me to lie to you. I'd be in more trouble if I was caught doing that." He let out another chuckle, followed by a harsh cracking cough. "I guess I can tell you why I was attempting to kill her, no skin off my bones anymore."

The ANBU looked closely at the man as he chuckled once again with a crooked smile, "I guess I have your complete attention now." He looked at the ANBU and then began to speak. "I'll keep this as short as possible. One of the elders on the Uchiha council doesn't want her to become the new leader of the clan so he acquired some people like me for the proposition and I was the only one to take up the offer. After all, he was promising some sweet stuff like training and secrets of the Uchiha Clan that have only been heard by a little of the clan. I was curious and my anger for the death of our former leader made my decision for me."

He let out another chuckle as he stared blankly at the masked face before him. "I don't even know which elder; he kept his face hidden from me the whole time and communicated through one of his friends in the clan. His friend in the clan, though, killed himself shortly after the execution of our former leader, so you can't track him down or nothing."

Itachi looked at the man before him. "I already know who you are talking about as I've dealt with him already."

The other Uchiha looked shocked and stunned for a moment before glaring at the ANBU. "There's absolutely no way that you already dealt with him! You didn't even know what he had done at that time!"

"That's true," the black ops stated before staring blankly at the man before him, "but he did attempt to kill an ANBU, which is simply calling for some sort of punishment."

"What black ops would he even try to kill," the man questioned, wonder why the hell he would do something that drastic.

"The black ops member would be," the masked shinobi said, moving his mask a little, showing his left crimson red eye that morphed to have a design of a three-pronged shuriken with each prong twisting into some direction, "…me…"

This caused the man to widen his eyes in surprise for a moment before his eyes were crinkling, almost closing, until a sharp black orb was piercing, or trying to pierce, through the single showing eye. He cursed at himself, but still kept his narrowed eyes on the talented ninja before him. "I should have known it would be you…"

"And why is that…?" the masked shinobi merely asked, curious of the answer.

The man increased his glare on the masked face. "Because you killed our leader, your own father, you idiot! You were the member of the black ops that was tasked with carrying out the execution of Uchiha Fugaku! That is precisely the reason that he attempted to take your life! He was seeking revenge upon you, because you didn't have to be the one to do it! You could have easily had someone else execute him! You could have said…"

"No…," the black ops member said almost silently like a light wind's breeze barely escaping from his practically closed lips, "I had to be the one to do it, to end his life."

"No, you didn't!" The man furiously yelled at the young man before him. "Why were you even thinking that you had to do that?! I just don't understand!"

"Precisely," the young masked Uchiha said back to the man, now being right behind him. This shocked the man completely, wondering how the hell he got behind him when he felt a chop at his neck and consciousness leave him, right as he heard a whisper from the man that had made him pass out.

"You don't understand… not at all…"

And then the darkness took over him, leaving him with nothing at all.

XXX

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed at his office, looking at the piece of paper, before wearing a sad smile on his face. He knew that there had to be new leadership for the clan, and, at least, the one person chosen was someone he would get along with definitely. He lifted his head up to see the determined, ready face of Uchiha Mikoto; her expression almost one that reminded him of Kushina or Naruto. The old leader chuckled when he saw that face on her, puzzling some of the Uchiha Elders that had shown up with her to ensure their nomination of her.

"This was an awfully quick decision that you guys made," Sarutobi said, dawning a serious expression as he looked at the three Uchiha Clan members that filed into his office. "Are you for certain that she is the right person to lead your clan during this difficult time in the village? After all, I didn't like how certain members of your clan lost faith on the village and staged a coup, and I would definitely have to put in certain actions that won't be pretty if there's even a hint of another to come." Sarutobi smirked and chuckled internally at the sweat and fear radiating of the Uchiha elders, knowing that he still had what it took to be Konohagakure's Hokage.

"Yes, Hokage-sama…," one of the elders spoke out weakly before gaining strength in his voice. "We were approached by Mikoto-san and she definitely seems to be one of the best options for the betterment and future of our clan. Plus, she was the wife of our former leader…"

"But wasn't he the one who planned the coup," the Hokage said with a raise of his eyebrow. He asked this, but he most certainly knew Mikoto and knew she was almost the complete opposite of her dead husband.

"You know as much as us how much Mikoto cares for not only our clan, but the village as well." The other elder spoke up. "After all, she was very close friends with the Yondaime Hokage and his wife."

The mention of those two caused Mikoto to stiffen only for a slight moment before relaxing instantly afterward, but the shifting eyes of the wise leader already caught her. He had a slight frown, knowing the pain that the death of the couple had on the village. But he thinks that the death had the biggest effects on his former student, Jiraiya, their son, Uzumaki Naruto, and the kunoichi before him, Uchiha Mikoto. He quickly changed his expression with no one noticing his frown when he grew a calm, emotionless mask over his old face.

"Uchiha Mikoto," the worn voice of Hiruzen reached Mikoto's ears, causing her to raise her head and look at the old man.

"Yes, Hokage-sama," she said back to him, wondering what he was going to ask her.

"I want to hear from you right now and only you." His eyeballs never left her face for a single moment as she nodded in response. "As the leader of the Uchiha Clan, what do you plan to do to restore their relationship with Konohagakure? After all, it's not just the coup that has had my villagers fearing the clan, but the Kyuubi attack years ago is still in the minds and hearts of many people that live in the village, civilians and shinobi alike. So, what will you do with your new status?"

Mikoto already knew her answer; she's known her answer for quite some time and she had a ton of time to think about it. And with her fierce resolve, she spoke. "I will open the Uchiha Clan's living quarters and allow more openness for the area to seem that is more in the village. It will make clan members feel less secluded and more like they belong in the village. Another main thing is to allow the Uchiha Police Force to be turned into Konohagakure Police Force or terminate it completely and just use spare ANBU members to be the police. If that is alright with you, Hokage-sama, as I think it will make the Uchiha not feel as if they are being constantly watched and suspected of something that they are not guilty of."

She stopped speaking then as the Hokage started to have his chance to talk, asking her if she was done. The Uchiha women merely nodded as the Hokage cleared his throat and looked fiercely at the former kunoichi.

"I think that…" The elders and Mikoto stood silently with bated breath until the Sarutobi merely held a wide smile and put up a thumb. "…this is a splendid idea, Mikoto! You're the new leader!"

The Hokage couldn't help but laugh a good laugh at the expressions of the Uchiha members and how they crashed in their chairs at his reaction. "Ah, that felt good!" He smiled deeply at the about to be leader of the Uchiha Clan. "I always felt like you would be a great choice for the future of the Uchiha Clan, Mikoto. You even display traits of a Hokage! Now, I'll just sign this document and you'll be the new leader of your clan."

Mikoto rose from her chair and bowed to the leader quickly. "Thank you so much, Hokage-sama!"

The old man chuckled at her action as he dipped a pen into his black ink and began to write as he spoke. "No problem, Mikoto… I should be thinking you for finding the resolve to step up and become a leader of your clan." He put the Hokage Seal of Approvable on the document after his signature as he held a wide happy smile on his lips and gave the rolled up document to Mikoto. "There you go, Uchiha Mikoto. You're the new leader of your clan. I hope you bring the Uchiha Clan a much needed brighter future."

She smiled widely at Hiruzen and said, "I hope so too, Hokage-sama." And then she stepped outside the doors of the office and into the future that awaited her and her clan.


End file.
